SERMONS AND ADDRESSES 



Rev. MICHAEL L. WALSH 



Formerly Rector 

of 

St. Vincent de Paul's Church 

Albany, N. Y. 



1C14 




Class - \ 1 '1 , 

Book , \-V 5 (^ J 

GopyrightN 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



SERMONS 



— AND — 



ADDRESSES 



BY- 



Rev. Michael L. Walsh 



Late Rector of St. Vincent de Paul's 
Church, Albany, N. Y. 



GEORGE A. SCHEYER 

PUBLISHER 

37 Barclay Street, New York 



*&■ 



Imprimatur: 

+ JOHN CARDINAL FARLEY, 

Archbishop of New York,, 

Per a L 



Mm mmt: 

REMIGIUS LAFORT, S. S. D.. 

Censor. 
New York, September 29. 1914. 



Copyright, 1914, 

Rev. J. L. WALSH 

Hudson, N. Y. 

dec 30 m 

©CI.A388999 



FOREWORD 

The author of this Volume of Sermons never 
dreamed that it would appear in the public eye. 
Retirement was his characteristic, and, as he ever 
wished to be far from the madding crowd, his natural 
bent was that his sermons should never appear in 
print. But his friends who are left behind have been 
urgently requested to publish the same, in order, as 
they say, that the world might be benefited by his 
spoken word. 

For the years that he was assistant priest at the 
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Albany, 
N. Y., he thrilled his hearers with his silvery speech. 
These sermons have been polished to the last de- 
gree, as old Horace says : ' ' Usque ad unguem prae- 
sectam. ,, They are placed before the public in the 
hope of doing some good. 

The eminent Jesuit orator, Rev. M. J. Phelan, 
S. J., who, during the past winter, electrified the 
people of New York City, says of these sermons : 
"They rank with the best I have ever read." They 
speak for themselves ; and the hope is expressed that 
they may be of some assistance to the weary mis- 
sionary and the faithful clerics in the vineyard of 
the Lord.— W 

Feast of St. Michael, 

September 29, 1914 



These sermons reveal deep unction of piety, and 

show that no care has been spared in their composi- 
tion. 

" The literary style will satisfy the most fastidious 
taste ; and the reader will rise from his perusal with 
the mind enriched and the heart warmed with the love 
of God. 

[Signed] M. J, Phelan, S. J." 

Sacred Heart College, 

Crescent, Limerick, Ireland, 
November 21, 1914. 



"It has been a real pleasure to read these ser- 
mons, which I believe are to accomplish much good for 
the cause of Christ in the Catholic Church. No doubt 
it has cost much time and labor to place these beauti- 
ful thoughts in such pleasing and inspiring form for 
the benefit of the clergy and laity." — P. J. S. 



CONTENTS 



SERMONS 

PAGE 

First Sunday of Advent 9 

Third Sunday of Advent , 15 

Fourth Sunday of Advent 239 

Christmas , 18 

Christmas— Second Sermon 20 

First Sunday After Christmas 27 

New Year's Eve 32 

Epiphany 37 

Fourth Sunday After Christmas 43 

Third Sunday After Christmas « 47 

Sixth Sunday After Epiphany 52 

Purification 58 

Septuagesima Sunday 63 

Sexagesima Sunday 67 

Quinquagesima Sunday 74 

Second Sunday of Lent 77 

Lenten Sermon 82 

Fourth Sunday of Lent 91 

Fourth Sunday of Lent 97 

Holy Thursday 101 

Good Friday 106 

Easter ,110 

Easter Sermon 114 

Fifth Sunday After Easter 120 

Feast of the Ascension 125 

Pentecost Sunday 130 

Pentecost 134 

Trinity Sunday 138 

Trinity Sunday < . . 141 

Third Sunday After Pentecost 145 

Fifth Sunday After Pentecost 147 

Sixth Sunday After Pentecost 149 

Eleventh Sunday After Pentecost 152 

Twelfth Sunday After Pentecost 236 

Thirteenth Sunday After Pentecost 155 

Fourteenth Sunday After Pentecost 158 

Assumption 159 

Fifteenth Sunday After Pentecost 161 

Fifteenth Sunday After Pentecost 163 

Feast of the Seven Dolors 166 

October Devotions 172 

Sixteenth Sunday After Pentecost 177 

Seventeenth Sunday After Pentecost 181 



PAGE 

Seventeenth Sunday After Pentecost 185 

Eighteenth Sunday After Pentecost.. 188 

Nineteenth Sunday After Pentecost 193 

All Souls' Day 199 

Twentieth Sunday After Pentecost 205 

Twenty-first Sunday After Pentecost 212 

Twenty-second Sunday After Pentecost 213 

Twenty-fourth Sunday After Pentecost 217 

Sermon Delivered at the Dedication of St. Mary's Church, 

Troy, N. Y 226 

The Blessed Sacrament 245 

ADDRESSES 

Religious Profession 251 

Religious Profession 256 

Patronage of St. Joseph 265 

St. Patrick 269 

Month of May 282 

Address to the Graduates of St. Bernard's Academy 288 

Address to the Holy Name Society 295 

Address to the Delegates of State Convention, T. A. S., 
Saratoga, N. Y 298 

EULOGIES... 309 



Sermons by Rev. M. L. Walsh 



FIRST SUJSIDAY OF ADVENT. 



i i 



The night is past and the day is at 
hand. Let us therefore cast off the works of 
darkness, and put on the armor of light/ ' — 
St. Paul, Romans xiii, 12. 

Dearly Beloved Brethren : 

To-day we begin the holy season of Advent. 
Like every season of special grace, Advent has its 
own distinct purpose. What that purpose is, is re- 
vealed not only in the Epistle of this Sunday, but also 
in the very liturgy of the Church. 

From day to day, during four entire weeks, the 
latter exhorts us, her children, to prepare our hearts 
by prayer and penance for a faithful participation in 
the joy and happiness of Christmastide ; for, on the 
blessed anniversary of our Saviour's birth, the people 
of every nation and race will rejoice and make merry. 
It is self-evident why humanity delights, as one com- 
plete family, on that day of days, that feast of 
feasts ; the imagination of man has never pictured a 
day of holier memories than that on which the angels 
sang their gladsome "Gloria"; while the human 
heart seeks in vain for a happier one, providing, how- 
ever, due preparation has been made for its coming. 

Time was, dearly beloved, when this preparation 
was deemed most essential to the proper observance 
of all our grand solemnities ; in fact, our forefathers 
in the faith laid it down as a principle that only puri- 
fied hearts can catch the true spirit of a Christian 
feast. Would that the dearest interests of immortal 
souls, the pious practices of other days, had remained 



10 Father Walsh 

unchanged ! But, alas ! we are pained to note an 
ever-growing indifference to the thought of prepara- 
tion, a determination, on the part of many, to ignore 
this one condition of happiness, and a disposition to 
treat lightly the necessity and importance of mak- 
ing the Lord's way to their hearts and souls both 
straight and smooth. 

We need scarcely remind you, brethren, that such 
a course is unwise and unchristian ; for, surely you 
must know the feast days, such as Christmas, are 
bound to lose much of their sweetness, and much of 
their significance, when they come in upon us and 
find us unprepared. Moreover, the need of prepara- 
tion, at certain times, amounts almost to a law of God 
Himself; for no one will deny that it is character- 
istic of Him who does all things wisely and well to 
afford His children ample time and opportunity to 
prepare for His visitation, whether these visitations 
be made in mercy or in justice. For proof of the 
fact, we have only to consult the pages of Holy 
Writ. There, we read that prior to His visit to 
Moses on Sinai, God spoke to the Jewish people, com- 
manding them to purify their hearts by prayer, and 
penance, and sacrifice, as a preparation for His pres- 
ence in their midst. — Exodus xix, 7. 

Again, when the Almighty was about to destroy 
Jerusalem, He gave ample warning of His proposed 
visitation. The Lamentations of Jeremias, the sad- 
dest utterances that ever fell from human lips, were 
heard on every street and in every corner of the city. 
Day and night the man of God called the wicked 
people of the city to repentance, saying over and over 
again : ' ' Jerusalem, be converted to the Lord, thy 
God." But the people of Jerusalem had neither eyes 
nor ears for the things that were for their good. 
They continued in their career of sin ; they persisted 
in taking shadows for realities, and realities for 
shadows. The result of their failure to hear instruc - 



Sermons 11 

tion was, that God permitted the victorious armies of 
Rome to destroy them and their city. 

Did men accept the condition imposed upon 
them ? Did they, taught by bitter experience, listen 
reverently to the voice of God ? Yes ; for, be it said 
to the lasting honor of the human race, the better 
and more respected portion of the Jewish nation 
piously disposed itself for the birth of the Messiah. 
The inspired authors of the Gospels refer, in forcible 
and eloquent language, to the crowds that flocked 
out into the desert to see the Holy Precursor of the 
Saviour, and to learn from His lips what was neces- 
sary to receive, in a becoming manner, the Expected 
of nations. 

As it was in times long past, so it is in these, 
dearly beloved brethren, our own days. God still 
visits His people, spiritually, it may be, but yet, really 
and truly. That He wishes us to look for and prepare 
ourselves for His coming may be inferred from the 
fact that Holy Church has taken up the work laid 
down by St. John the Baptist. Like him, she, too, 
is a living teacher, a messenger sent on before, to 
prepare the way of the Lord. Like the saintly Pre- 
cursor, she, too, has a mission to perform and a mes- 
sage to deliver to mankind. 

Do you ask, brethren, what that mission is ? 
what that message was ? Told in a few words, it is 
to convince us that the Lord is now nigh. It is to 
say to us that this is "an acceptable time " ; it is to re- 
mind us ' ' that the night is far spent, and the day is at 
hand "; it is to induce us, if she can, "to cast off the 
works of darkness, and to put on the armor of light. " 
In fine, it is to warn us, if the holiest and happiest 
day of the year, which is the anniversary of the Mes- 
siah's coming, finds our hearts indifferent and our 
souls unattuned to the spirit of Christmastide, the 
fault, the blame, will be our own. It will be because 
we are too worldly to accept of the helps and graces 
proffered from above ; it will be because business, or 



12 Father Walsh 

pleasure, or selfishness, has hardened us against the 
maternal pleadings of Holy Church, exhorting us to 
rise from spiritual sleep to do penance, and to make 
straight the way of the Lord. 

Were we to reflect honestly on the far-reaching 
effects of closing our ears and hearts to the calls and 
graces of God, surely fewer men could or would live, 
as they do now, in fatal security. Moreover, care- 
lessness and indifference in matters of religion, oft- 
times mean more than an individual — a personal loss. 
It adds, no one knows how much, to the curse of evil 
already in the world. The example of the hard- 
ened sinner and the listlessness of the weak Chris- 
tian, teach the rising generation to reject models and 
standards followed and approved by the saints. In 
fact, we who are guilty of ignoring the exhortations 
of religion are simply doing all in our power to de- 
stroy respect for holy vigils, and reverence for the 
time-honored observance of special seasons of grace 
and prayer, all of which go to show that the claims 
of earth go before the rights of heaven, and that 
the world takes precedence over God. 

What fatal folly, and, oh ! my brethren, what 
a shameful contrast between the professions of Chris- 
tians and the ancient practices of pagans. In olden 
times the world had lost all knowledge of the true 
God. The people' s highest and best ideal of the Deity 
was the prince of the realm, their king, whom they 
honored to the point of worship. Whenever state af- 
fairs made it necessary for the monarch to visit any 
portion of his kingdom, he was usually accompanied 
by a numerous and obsequious guard of honor, while 
bands of laborers were despatched on before to make 
the king's route as direct and as smooth as possible. 

" Prepare ye the way of the Lord, " was the com- 
mand. "Make His path straight. Every valley 
shall be filled and every mountain and hill shall be 
brought low, and the crooked shall be made straight, 



Sermons 13 

and the rough ways plain. " Bear in mind that all 
this, and more, too, were done to express loyalty to a 
sovereign, to honor an earthly ruler. In the light of 
a larger civilization, men have frowned down such 
empty ceremonies, and have decreed that such cus- 
toms must be laid aside. But neither civilization, 
nor circumstances, nor time, nor place, can ever dis- 
pense with pomp and ceremony and preparation, 
when it is a question of making ready for the 
spiritual coming of the Son of God. Ancient sover- 
eigns were, at best, only faint and far-off shadows of 
the Messiah, who holds in His eternal hands the 
destinies of individuals and nations. 

This is the one natural thought we should keep 
in mind, dearly beloved brethren, during the holy 
season of Advent. Whether at prayer, or at work, 
we should remember that we are not expecting the 
visit of an earthly ruler. No ; we are looking for 
one holier than any earthly king ; we are expecting 
one who, alone, gives a meaning and a charm to life ; 
one who has the power to lift us up in His everlast- 
ing arms and save us to the uttermost. In a word, 
we have to receive Him who is justly titled: "The 
King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.' ' 

But how shall we receive such a guest ? How 
shall we receive Sanctity itself, we who are now so 
sinful ? How shall we receive the very source of 
strength, we who are now so weak? How shall we 
receive light and life, we who are now so dead to the 
aspirations of Divine grace ? St. Paul answers these 
all-important questions, briefly but beautifully, in the 
Epistle read in the Mass of this Sunday. He says : 
The night is passed and the day is at hand ; let us, 
therefore, cast off the works of darkness and put on 
the armor of light.' ' It is beyond computation, 
dearly beloved brethren, the number of souls saved 
by these warning words. Will we, who are sleeping 
the treacherous sleep of sin, act now like those men 



14 Father Walsh 

and women who have ears to hear, but hear not ? 
God forbid that we should be any longer idlers in the 
service of the Master ; God forbid we should 
lose the graces which are now held out to us, for the 
acquiring of patience, purity, humility, charity, tem- 
perance, and the love of our Heavenly Father. 

If, during this acceptable time, we fail to be ear- 
nest in prayer, renew ourselves in spirit, and to re- 
ceive the Sacraments of Christ, let us cease to won- 
der if, on Christmas morning, Christ comes into 
the world, and the world knows Him not. If He 
comes into His own, and His own receive Him not ! 
Let us cease to wonder, I say, if the gayest feast of 
all the year fails to bring us joy, and feelings of that 
peace which passe th understanding; for such blessings 
as childlike joy and peace are intended solely for 
those whose hearts are open to the influence of 
Divine Grace, and whose souls are prepared to receive 
Him who is the author of every good and perfect 
gift. Between the sinful soul and the Saviour there 
is nothing in common ; the one is light, the other 
darkness ; one is life, the other death. This is a 
serious reflection for the man or the woman whose 
life is a scandal and a loathsome leprosy in the sight 
of heaven. It is a fearful thought for some one or 
other among us, who may be making of religion a 
mask for hypocrisy and vice. For this may be, 
brethren, the last warning of impending doom ; it 
may be God's last call to the sinner to cast off the 
works of darkness. 

This will be only possible, in and through the 
sacramental power of God, which cleanses us from 
our sins, makes our souls fit habitations for the Re- 
deemer, and gives to our hearts a sweet foretaste of 
that happiness which the Lord has prepared for those 
who love His coming. 

Trusting, therefore, dearly beloved brethren, to 
your Catholic faith and to your Catholic piety, we 



Sermons 15 

feel confident that each one of you will realize, and 
realize at once, the importance and the necessity of 
preparation. 



THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT. 

PRAYER. 

1 ' Be nothing solicitous : but in every thing 
by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving 
let your petitions be made known to God." — 
Phil, iv, 6. 

This life, my brethren, is, according to St. Paul, 
a continual warfare against the powers of darkness. 

Like the Apostle himself, we are struggling for 
the immortal crown, and every individual existence 
is sure to close with either a glorious victory, or an 
ignominious defeat. Only the vanquished know 
what the latter means, and only the reprobate can 
curse, as should be cursed, that fatal delusion which 
told them they could conquer, independent of God. 
They knew that for the asking they might have put 
on the renown of the mighty one, the girdle of truth, 
the helmet of hope, the breastplate of justice, the 
shield of faith, the sword of the spirit. But they 
were self-confident; presumption prevailed over pru- 
dence, and they went unarmed to the field of battle. 
We know the rest. The night of life came, and 
found them numbered among the lost ; so true is it, 
my brethren, that ''pride goeth before destruction, 
and a spirit is lifted up before a fall." — Prov. xvi, 18. 

It is safe to assert that everyone born into this 
world, begins life with high hopes and sweet dreams 
of victory ; and yet, strange to say, comparatively 
few take a different course than the one marked out 
by the fallen. Like them, we go forth, day after 
day, unarmed and unprotected. We know that 



16 Father Walsh 

Satan goeth about like a roaring lion, seeking whom 
he may devour," and still, we do not manifest over- 
much anxiety to withstand his assaults ; for if we 
did, we could easily receive and find the necessary 
weapons of defence ; true, with God, asking is re- 
ceiving, and seeking is finding. 

Prayer, therefore, is, my brethren, the Christian 
warrior's great secret of success, and, once we learn 
to use it aright, we shall find it as efficacious as 
it is indispensable. Though Holy Scripture had never 
said it, it would still be true, that we are crea- 
tures in want of many things. ' ' Our days are full 
of misery," says Holy Job, and our help is from 
above ; then, let no one be presumptuous enough to 
say : " I want nothing," for he alone " wants noth- 
ing who knows nothing." 

Who is it that does not want a new lease of 
health, and strength, and life ? Who is it that does 
not want a continuance of prosperity and happiness ? 
Who is it that does not want a cessation from pain, 
from trouble, from worry ? Who is it that does not 
want broken some vicious habit, that can thrive only 
at the expense of honor and virtue, and by the 
sacrifice of principle and duty to God ? In a word, 
who is it that does not want to feel, when life's 
battle is over, that he has fought the good fight and 
won an unfading crown of glory ? 

These, my dearest friends, are wants common to 
all the children of Adam, and Christ Jesus gener- 
ously assures us that they can be relieved through 
prayer. ' ' Ask, and you shall receive ; seek, and you 
shall find ; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." 
Long centuries ago the Lord spoke thus : ' ' Cry unto 
me in the day of your affliction, and I will hear you." 
His promise He has sacredly kept, as ecclesiastical 
history attests. In one instance, more particularly, 
we see the prayer of faith, blended with human ex- 
ertions, turning away disasters where human forces 



Sermons 17 

alone had proved ineffectual. When the powerful 
army of Amilech suddenly attacked the Israelites, 
Moses quickly ascended to the top of a high moun- 
tain, and prayed with outstretched arms for the 
triumph of God's people. When the hands of Moses 
hung down through weariness, Amilech prevailed 
over the Israelites ; but when he held up his hands, 
the Israelites prevailed over Amilech ; so that, in 
fact, it was the prayers of Moses, rather than the 
sword of Josue, that gained the victory. 

It is in this way also, my brethren, that we must 
not only obtain favors, but also vanquish our spiritual 
enemies, and overcome the tyranny of our wicked in- 
clinations. We are sometimes amazed at the long 
record of wicked deeds daily committed throughout 
the length and breadth of our land. Traced to their 
sources, they reveal, in nearly every case, some name- 
less vice, some ignoble passion, that fully explains 
their perpetration. The heart of the wrongdoer real- 
izes the enormity of his sin, but, alone, he is unable 
to cope with the temptation that pushes him on, be- 
cause he never asked God "to teach his hands to 
war and his fingers to fight" against the powers of 
darkness. 

It is the same, my brethren, in our own daily lives. 
Every day brings its own record of sins committed 
against God, our neighbor, and ourselves. True, 
some may say : "We do pray," and, may I ask, when, 
and how do you pray ? Much that is called prayer is 
hardly worthy of that sacred name. We have the 
highest authority for saying that the man "who 
fights on his knees," will conquer any and every ob- 
stacle. But I beseech you, brethren, do not imagine 
by the name of prayer, those few, hasty, distracted 
words, spoken by so many Christians, before and 
after rest. Perhaps, like the two men mentioned in 
the Gospel, you come frequently to pray, but do you 
pray? Coming to church and praying to God are not 



18 Father Walsh 

one and the same thing. It may be that while you 
honor God with your lips, your hearts are far from 
Him, and this, it may be, is the one defect that makes 
your prayers so unlike the prayer of Moses, who 
gained victories; of an Agar, who saved the life of 
her dear infant child; of a Gregory, who moved 
mountains; and of many saints who performed mir- 
acles. Evidently something is wrong, and it must 
be in the matter or the manner of our prayers. 
Certainly, the fault is not God's ; for He is the same 
yesterday, to-day, and to-morrow. 

We shall conclude these few thoughts, suggested 
in the epistle of to-day, with a kindly warning to 
those who habitually neglect to pray. Easier terms 
God could not have prescribed, than those on which 
he has suspended the communication of His bless- 
ings. When you see the door of mercy forever 
closed against you, and begin to feel the judgments 
from which you would not turn away when you 
could, you will lament, and even curse your folly 
for neglecting prayer. "Then shall you call upon 
Me," says Christ, "but 1 will not answer. " In the 
day of distress you shall seek Me early, but you 
shall not find Me. ' ' 

Ah! my brethren, if we be wise, we shall call 
upon the name of the Lord, and He will save us 
from our enemies. Delay not a single hour. Begin 
the work at once; pray piously, fervently, and per- 
se veringly, and I promise you in Christ's name, 
present peace and everlasting triumphs. Amen. 



CHRISTMAS. 

Of all the days in the year, dearly beloved breth- 
ren, this is the richest in sweet and tender mem- 
ories. That it should be so, is but natural ; for what 
day ever brought to the world the sunshine, the 



Sermons 19 

hope, the joy, the love of earth's first Christmas 
Day ? What light ever filled so completely the human 
heart as that which shone round Bethlehem's lowly 
stable over nineteen hundred years ago this night ? 
What music or symphony ever seemed to human ears 
so sacredly soothing, as the sound of the angelic 
chorus singing : ' ' Glory to God in the Highest, and 
on earth, peace to men of good-will.' ' 

When we weigh well, brethren, the meaning of 
Christmas, when we remember how long the world 
waited for these tidings of great joy, and how patiently 
the prophets and patriarchs of old sighed for the 
day of man's deliverance from the bondage of sin; 
when we recall all this to mind, that the birth of Christ 
was, and is, the gracious answer given to accumulated 
prayers, and supplications, and sacrifice, of more than 
four thousand years, we cannot but rejoice in the 
Lord, and lovingly repeat again and again that sweet- 
est of all songs : " Gloria in excelsis Deo." 

Yes ; Glory to the Most High for the blessing 
of our redemption, the sublimest evidence possible of 
our Heavenly Father's infinite wisdom, power and 
tenderness. Glory and gratitude to Him, not only 
for the Saviour's coming, but also for the manner of 
that coming. Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus 
Christ came into the world to seek and to save that 
which was lost, and hence, to draw the sinner as 
well as the saint to His Sacred Heart, He lays aside 
every reminder of might and majesty, every exterior 
attribute of His Divinity. Unmurmuringly, He as- 
sumes the helplessness of infancy, and submits to 
the weakness of childhod. 

As might be expected, such condescension has 
endeared the Babe of Bethlehem to the human 
family ; and therefore, is it that to-day, countless 
lips proclaim His arrival, and that countless hearts 
are prepared to receive Him. To-day He knows His 
own, and His own know Him ; and to them He gives 



20 Father Walsh 

power "to be made the sons of God." Surely, 
brethren, this is a glorious privilege, an inestimable 
grace. We accept and appreciate it as such, return- 
ing thanks to Him who thus blessed us beyond meas- 
ure, and still makes merry each recurring anniver- 
sary of the World's First Christmas Day. 

As this is the acknowledged season of kindly 
greetings, we extend to you, dearly beloved in 
Christ, our sincere good wishes, praying God to bless 
you all, and to grant you all many returns of this 
holy and happy feast day. 



CHRISTMAS— SECOND SERMON. 

" This day is born to you a Saviour, who is 
Christ the Lord."— Luke ii, 11. 

The task of the preacher never seems, brethren, 
by half so easy or so sweet as it does on Christmas 
Day. 

Why this is, is quite evident ; the sweet memories 
of the world's first Christmas morning are, in them- 
selves, a splendid sermon, evoking, as they do, sen- 
timents that are enough to fill and thrill the human 
soul. 

Consequently, the priest feels to-day that the 
minds of his hearers are already prepared for ' ' the 
story, ever ancient, ever new," and that all the 
various circumstances connected with the birth of 
Jesus Christ, are indeed, well calculated to excite our 
grateful and thoughtful interest. Hence, the hardest 
part of the preacher's duty on this feast of feasts is, 
to convince the unbeliever, the inconsistent Christian, 
and the indifferent Catholic, that nothing in all 
history has affected the doctrines of humanity, for 
weal or woe, so vitally, so profoundly, as has the 
incarnation of the Son of God. The coming of the 
Son of God into this world was meant for man, and, 



Sermons 21 

was meant to answer either eternal life or eternal 
death. 

This is a fact founded on the testimony of the Old 
Testament ; for, on the day of the Presentation in the 
Temple, more than nineteen hundred years ago, the 
Venerable High -Priest Simeon said to the Virgin 
Mary : ' ' This Child is set for the fall, and for the 
resurrection of many in Israel, and for a sign which 
shall be contradicted."— Luke ii, 34. We all know, 
only too well, how literally this prophecy has been 
fulfilled, and, like the people who have gone before, 
and like people who may come after us, we, too, must 
choose between life and death. 

Christ, Himself, says in Holy Writ: " He who 
is not with me is against me." Therefore, we must 
either receive or reject Jesus Christ, and this means 
either eternal life or eternal death. The Jews of 
old rejected Him; for, St. John tells us: "He came 
unto His own, and His own received Him not."— St. 
John i, 12. May it be written of us in the Book of Life : 
"They received Him," "For to as many as re- 
ceived Him are given the grace and the power, and 
the privilege to become and be called the children of 
God."— St. John i, 12. Brethren, do not allow either 
present joys, or present sorrows, to efface from your 
minds these Divine words of a Divine promise. They 
constitute the real happiness of this, and of every 
coming Christmas Day. 

Would that unbelievers could be induced to re- 
flect deeply and reverently upon this blessed prom- 
ise! I am sure that they, too, would be led to a 
ready recognition of the fact, that life's highest and 
holiest duty is to know, to love, and to serve God, 
made man. Usually, and more especially on occa- 
sions like this, the term of preacher is limited; there 
is, therefore, great danger and great difficulty in 
trying to prove too much in a few words. Our only 
encouragement is, that considerate people will not 



22 Father Walsh 

look to us, this morning, for more than an outline of 
the arguments that will bring home to each one of 
us, the reasonableness of the duty that we owe to 
our Blessed Lord. 

When our Heavenly Father endowed us with in- 
tellect, He had, and could have in view but one pur- 
pose, namely: to enable us to see and to know the 
truth, no matter when, or where, or how, we found it. 
Hence, ever since the dawn of creation, men have 
sought the truth. They have been fascinated by its 
beauty. Indeed, it is just as natural for the minds 
of men to be drawn to truth, as it is for material 
things to be drawn by the law of gravitation to the 
center of the earth. In every age of the world, the 
universal boast has been that men longed to seek 
and to know "the good, the beautiful, and the 
true." 

But, brethren, Christ is truth itself. How, then, 
can the unbeliever, and the inconsistent Christian, 
and the indifferent Catholic, virtually refuse to recog- 
nize Him? Is the modern world, like the ancient 
Jewish world, disappointed and scandalized in the 
manner of His coming? Has science discredited His 
claims? Has human philosophy disproved His doc- 
tine? No ; for anyone to say that Jesus Christ could 
have been either a false prophet, or a false teacher, 
or a false god — such contentions are absurd. For, 
how could heaven itself crown the infant head of a 
false god with the halo of sanctity, and the aureole of 
divinity? How could heaven itself permit a mirac- 
ulous star to lead shepherds, and wise men as well, to 
the cradle of an untruth? How could heaven itself 
point out, by a direct and Divine revelation, the ex- 
act manner, the exact place, and the exact time, of 
the birth of a monstrous falsehood? Let him who 
will, subscribe to such a blasphemy. As for us, 
brethren, we unhesitatingly recognize in the Christ - 
Child the substantial image of the Father, and most 



Sermons 23 

gladly and gratefully do we accept Him as the great- 
est gift of God to men. 

But here we must stop ; stop, to make an admis- 
sion, and we make the admission with mingled feel - 
ings of fear and shame. That admission is this : 
nowadays, we have, in our churches, unfortun- 
ately, too many men, and too many women, who are 
willing to make an open profession of their faith in 
Christ, but who are unwilling to follow Him in His 
Divine principles, and in His Divine practices. To 
say the least, it is hard for the world to shut its eyes 
to such a glaring contradiction, and harder still for 
us to explain upon what grounds such people pre- 
sume to participate in the holy joys of Christmas- 
tide. We have already clearly stated, brethren, the 
real reason, the only grounds for our rejoicing to- 
day : it is the blessed promise of Sonship with God 
Himself for receiving the Christ-Child as His Son 
and as our Saviour. 

But what does "to receive Christ' ' mean? It 
means, if it means anything, to receive His doctrine 
and respect His laws. It means, if it means any- 
thing, to honor and respect His church, and to use 
worthily, from time to time, her sacramental graces. 
It means, if it means anything, to do as He did, 
namely, to pray, "to take up our cross daily and to 
follow Him. " "I have given you the example, ' ' says 
Christ, in the Holy Scriptures, ' ' in order that as I have 
done, you also may do." Surely no man may be ab- 
solved from his indifference to supernatural graces, 
or neglect for his abuse of spiritual helps, by saying 
that neglect and indifference are characteristic of all 
men, or by claiming that "such is the way of the 
world. ' ' Yes ; and we claim that such is the way of 
the reprobate. 

The once -a- year attendant at Mass is, at best, a 
doubtful proof of our faith in Christ, while the once- 
a-year confession, and the once-a-year communicant, 



24 Father Walsh 

hardly deserve to be called a pledge of loving loyalty 
to Him who came on Christmas morning to lift up a 
fallen world, and to redeem, at a great price, count- 
less creatures condemned to everlasting misery. We 
assure you, dearly beloved brethren, that loyalty 
means much more than the hearing of a few masses, 
or the making of a few confessions, or the receiving 
of a few communions in the course of the year. 
Loyalty to Jesus Christ means constancy in our devo- 
tion to Him. It means, above all, consistency in the 
fulfillment of every sacred duty. Hence, if people 
are to know the full meaning and to taste the full 
sweetness of Christmas joys, they must first recog- 
nize in the Blessed Babe of Bethlehem, the long-ex- 
pected Messiah, and then be prepared to give Him 
always and everywhere practical proofs of their 
obedience to His will and to His word. Indeed, His 
word ought to be, as Holy Writ says : ' ' a light to our 
eyes, and a lamp to our feet," a light and a lamp to 
see Him as He is : a God full of grace and full of 
truth. " Plenum gratise et veritatis." 

To know Jesus Christ is our first Christmas duty! 
Our second is like unto the first: We must learn to 
love Him. Easy lesson! pleasant duty! it would 
seem, brethren. Very like a wicked waste of words 
to insist upon any lengthy argument to prove a na- 
tural obligation. When our Heavenly Father gave us 
hearts, what, think you, did He intend? All will ac- 
knowledge that He simply wished to give us some 
adequate means of recognizing the reality of His in- 
finite love, and of testifying to our gratitude for the 
highest and holiest expressions of that love. There 
is no dispute among men as to what constitutes the 
highest and the holiest expressions of our Father's 
love ; all doubt on that point has been forever brushed 
aside by these strong words, found in the Gospel of 
St. John: "God so loved the world, that He gave us 
His only begotten Son." Do you understand, breth- 



Sermons 25 

ren, the nature, and the value of the gift that was 
given to us on Christmas Day in the long ago? No; 
you do not, and cannot, grasp its meaning ; there- 
fore, let us have recourse to a comparison that will 
give us, at least, some faint idea of its perfection 
and greatness. 

When a human father gives up — without a mur- 
mur, and in loving submission to the will of Provi- 
dence — a dearly beloved child, the world stops just 
long enough to ask: "How can he do it?" But 
when attention is directed to the fact that the dead 
child was the only comfort of that father's home, and 
the only joy of that father's heart, the world is baf- 
fled by the greatness of his sacrifice, and stunned by 
the depth and reality of that man's faith in and love 
for God's Providence. His is, indeed, a true faith, a 
true love, somewhat akin to this human father's 
love ; for God is God's love for human fathers, and 
human mothers, and human brothers, and human 
sisters. He gave us His only-begotten Son without 
reserve or restriction. He gave Him to us, even 
though the giving meant a supreme sacrifice for the 
Eternal Father, and for the Son a species of death. 
Yes ; God gave us His own beloved child, despite the 
fact that He knew of the moral turpitude into which 
the world had fallen, and realized how coldly His 
own people would receive Him. Despite all this, I 
say, the Father permitted His child to divest Himself 
of His Divinity, and to take, as it were, the ' ' form 
of a slave." He allowed Him to assume our human 
nature, with all its imperfections and weaknesses. 

Oh ! how many and how great were the ob- 
stacles to the realization of God's plans for the re- 
demption of mankind ! You know, dearly beloved in 
Christ, that true love is strong enough to overcome 
such difficulties, and to even defy death. Jesus Christ 
demonstrated this fact when He was born, a child at 
Bethlehem. Is it, then, hard for us to love our 



26 Father Walsh 

Heavenly Father, who gave us such an unheard-of 
proof of His compassionate love ? Is it hard for us 
to love the Son of God, who offered Himself so 
generously and so eagerly as a ransom for countless 
creatures condemned to everlasting misery ? The 
highest and holiest expressions of Divine love was, 
in its nature and value, simply amazing ; but, more 
amazing still, if possible, was the manner in which 
it was given to men. 

Our Blessed Lord might have been born a full- 
grown man, capable of asserting His rights, and of 
compelling respect for His mission. He might have 
been born in the palace of a king, all ready to command, 
by an armed force, the acceptance of His teachings- 
all prepared to dazzle the world, and to drench it in 
floods of blood, as worldly wisdom usually ends by 
doing. But no, brethren, He was born in none of 
these ways. His kingdom was not of this world ; 
He was to be the builder of a spiritual empire ; He 
was to be the lover of souls, the Prince of Peace, the 
friend of humanity, the strength of the weak, the 
comfort of the poor, the Saviour of our race. "By 
His stripes have we been healed "; by His sufferings 
on Calvary have we been sanctified ; by His humilia- 
tions and privations at Bethlehem has our human 
nature been dignified and glorified and deified. He 
has won the only victory worth while. He has won 
the endearing love of every good and grateful heart. 

Praise, honor, and glory be to Jesus Christ, now 
and forever. May He reign in our hearts unto the 
breaking of Eternal Day. Until then, may every 
recurring anniversary of the Blessed Feast, mean 
greater glory to God in the highest, and on earth, 
greater peace to men of good will. Amen. 



Sermons 27 

FIRST SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS. 

THE HOME OF NAZARETH, A MODEL CHRISTIAN HOME. 

' ' And He went down with them, and came 
to Nazareth : and was subject to them."— St. 
Luke ii, 51. 

Dearly Beloved Brethren : 

If there be in this world a spot to which a Chris- 
tian pilgrim turns lovingly as the most sacred in the 
history of his faith, that spot is Nazareth. 

True, Palestine is studded all over with towns 
and villages justly renowned for their glorious asso- 
ciations and traditions, a fact that gives her a place 
of interest, second to none, among the nations of 
the earth. She has, for instance, Bethlehem, around 
which will ever cluster the holiest and the tenderest 
memories ; she has her Cana, that favored hamlet, 
where Christ, emerging from His solitude, like the 
morning star from its obscurity, first astounded the 
world by changing water into wine — something that 
was never so much as dreamed of, either before or 
since— she has her Bethany, beyond the Jordan a 
place made memorable by the burning eloquence of 
St. John the Baptist, whose God-loving and God- 
fearing spirit we may still imbibe from the pages of 
Holy Writ. She has, too, her Jerusalem, her ill- 
fated Jerusalem, whose proverbial perfidy was only 
equalled by her well-known chastisement. 

But, great and glorious as are the traditions of 
these and other towns of Palestine, they have, none 
of them, neither the deep pathos nor the moral poetry 
of noiseless Nazareth, for so many years the humble 
home of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. 

For reasons which we dare not question, St. 
Luke has seen fit to draw the veil of silence around 



28 Father Walsh 

the Holy Family, and to condense into the conclud- 
ing words of to-day's Gospel a long catalogue of 
domestic virtues, that have been, and are, and will 
be, for all time to come, the only assured safeguards 
of both society and religion. The reason of this is 
evident. Being nothing else than an aggregation of 
families, the Church and the State have everything 
to gain or to lose from a rigid or lax adherence to 
these sacred principles of punctual and filial duty, 
of which God Himself is the author, and the Holy 
Family of Nazareth the first and most faithful ex- 
ponent. To be more explicit : the prosperity of re- 
ligion and the purity of society must spring from 
Christian homes, in which parents reflect in their 
lives, the virtues of Mary and Joseph, while their 
children hold fast to Jesus as their truest and high- 
est ideal. 

I wish every father and mother, every son and 
daughter, would go down in spirit to Nazareth this 
morning, and see for themselves God's model of a 
Christian home. The journey would not be a useless 
one, my brethren, for we must build after it, or else 
we build in vain. Remember, the closer a home re- 
sembles this ideal, the happier, the more heavenly, 
it becomes. On the other hand, let the outward 
appearance of a family be what it may, let its 
wealth be ever so great, and its members ever so 
refined, if the home life be not Christian, if it be 
not pure, if it be not hallowed by the virtues taught 
and practiced at Nazareth, then, that family, be- 
lieve me, is rapidly nearing the brink of a social and 
moral death. 

A home, such as God would have us have, should 
be, first of all, a nursery of piety. I know of noth- 
ing so potent for good or evil as a child's early home 
influence. Let parents be especially watchful over 
their youngest children, for the earliest years of a 
child are the most receptive, says a distinguished 



Sermons 29 

authority. It learns more in its first three or four 
years than it does in all its after life. The character 
of the mother, her care, her looks, her soul, repeat 
themselves in the child while it is yet in her arms 
or at her knee, a fact, no doubt, which inspires 
the beautiful and well-known saying ' ' that she who 
rocks the cradle rules the world. ' ' 

From the nursery, or its mother's arms, a child 
naturally passes into the school-room. Every home 
should be a school, in which the hearts, and, to a 
certain extent, the minds of the little ones, may be 
prepared for the work which God has given them to 
do in this world. You know, dearly beloved brethren, 
the Child Jesus came into this world to accom- 
plish a great work, — a work whose nature and mag- 
nitude might have made the mightiest monarch mis- 
trust his strength and courage. — To overthrow the 
kingdom of Satan, and the power of evil, and the 
reign of injustice, was no puerile undertaking. It 
required a soul schooled in patience, a heart steeped 
in suffering, and a mind broadened and deepened 
by sympathy and charity for fallen human nature. 
Where, think you, did Christ acquire such a soul, 
such a heart, such a mind ? Was it from His eter- 
nal Father ? Assuredly not ; for the Inspired Writer 
says : ' ' He was like unto us in all things save 
sin." Hence, we must conclude that He got them at 
Nazareth, where He dwelt for nearly thirty years. 
There it was that He laid deep the foundation of all 
his future triumphs ; for there He found every in- 
centive to love self less, and, poor humanity more. 
In a word, it was there He prepared Himself to 
accomplish His life's work. 

Every child coming into this world has, like the 
Child Jesus, a work before it, and that work is the 
salvation of its immortal soul. Let no one presume 
to say, or even to think, that this is a work of small 
import. It is not. There is no greater, and none 



30 Father Walsh 

harder to achieve. It is a fatal mistake for children 
to face the world without preparation, and it is a 
cruel wrong for parents to send them forth to battle 
for life eternal, without previous careful training. 

If fathers and mothers were, nowadays, to feed 
their children to animals, as do frequently the 
fathers and mothers of India, they would be 
accounted, and justly so, monsters of the most brutal 
type. But, I tell you, brethren, that such parents 
are not less brutal, from a Christian standpoint, 
when they place their children on the battlefield of 
this world without arming them with all the needful 
weapons of Christian warfare ; namely, with the 
breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith, and 
the sword of truth. To use the expression of St. 
Paul : "They should teach their children's hands to 
war and their fingers to fight. " 

From what we have said, it is clear, my dear 
brethren, that the heads of families must be teachers 
as well. But, oh ! how many parents prove to be 
worthless teachers ! And why ? The reason is an old, 
old story, the truest of truisms : no one gives what 
he does not possess. Parents who lead not spiritual 
lives cannot give spiritual instruction, and they who 
are not pious and virtuous, cannot hope to teach piety 
and virtue to others. Some mothers can teach their 
daughters more folly and fashion in the short space 
of one hour, than they can Christian perfection in a 
whole year. What wonder, then, if such children 
grow up very unlike the pious child of Nazareth ? I 
have known fathers who have given their sons more 
scandal in a week, than they can repair in a lifetime. 
Is it, then, any exaggeration to say that such homes 
are the playgrounds of the devil ? Is it any wonder 
that such homes are so different from the model of 
Nazareth, and that such children are very unlike the 
Child Jesus ? 

A husband who pours out vile abuse upon his 



Sermons 31 

wife is not a fit person to speak to his children of a 
Fourth Commandment. An adulterous husband is 
not commissioned by God to say to his children, 
"Thou shalt not commit adultery/ ' A father who 
is addicted to strong drink should not dilate on the 
subject of temperance ; for he cannot say to his sons 
what St. Paul said to the Romans : "Be sober.' ' 

It is just as natural, sometimes, for children to 
inherit the failings and vices of parents as it is for 
them to inherit their diseases and their traits of 
character. 

Fathers and mothers, let me say to you in all 
sincerity, and in love of Our Lord Jesus Christ, there 
is only one way to make your homes model Christian 
homes, and that is to be, yourselves, model Christian 
men and women. Do not seek to inculcate virtue so 
much by word as by example. Your good example 
will draw others to imitate you. If you came more 
frequently, many of you, to seek Christ in His holy 
sacraments, perhaps you would have the consolation 
of growing up around you a respected and respect- 
able family. Your sons might follow in your foot- 
steps, and thereby become better boys and more 
honorable men, instead of an impudent brood of 
nominal Catholics, not to say pronounced infidels. 
This is strong language, but it is the truth ; we 
priests know the moral pulse of the people ; we have 
seen numerous instances where religious neglect on 
the part of the parents brought about the most unex- 
pected and the most terrible results. 

What we want is more mothers like Mary, more 
fathers like Joseph, more children like Jesus. 
Happy are the parents who model their homes after 
the family of Nazareth. The end of such fathers and 
mothers will be peaceful and hopeful ; even death 
will be sweet to them, for they will be made to feel 
that their lifework has been well done, and that they 
and their children will one day enjoy everlasting 



32 Father Walsh 

happiness, the foundations of which were laid in 
their childhood's home. May the example of Jesus, 
Mary and Joseph sanctify all our homes. Amen. 



NEW YEAR'S EVE. 



Dearly Beloved Brethren : 

The present day and hour seem invested with 
all the solemnity of Death. We feel, as by instinct, 
that the year is dying, and that another decade in 
the rosary of life will soon be told. Custom, too, 
venerable in years and traditions, reminds us that 
ere to-morrow's sun shall have risen, a thousand bells 
throughout the land shall have tolled the requiem of 
another twelve months, thus bringing us to the con- 
sideration of a new mystery, namely, the New Year. 

This world of ours is full of mysteries, for so we 
are taught by nature ; but we have the strongest 
reasons for believing that of all things connected 
with human life, none is quite so mysterious as the 
days and the years that may lie before us. Will 
they be few or many ? We know not. Will they 
be brightened with sunshine, blessed with happi- 
ness ? We know not. Will they be clouded with 
adversity, saddened with sorrow? We know not. 
All we know, my brethren, is that they are secrets 
hidden in the mind of God, and the great realities, 
life and time, are among them. 

Still, enough has been revealed to teach us the 
true meaning and aim of our existence, to chasten 
our desires, to curb our passions, to regulate our 
ambitions, and to direct aright our energies and 
our faculties. In other words, God has put us in 
possession of a few facts that should enable us "to 
make our lives sublime, and, departing, leave behind 
us footprints on the sands of time." One of these 
facts is that the past, considered in its effects, does 



Sermons 33 

not, and cannot die ; but gives our bearing bitter or 
blessed fruit during the ages of eternity, according 
as we have used or abused the days and the years of 
life. 

Perhaps many of us may find this a truth hard 
to understand, and still harder to believe. At first 
sight, we may be more inclined to deny than accept 
it, so contrary is it to existing ideas. But, brethren, 
it is useless to close our eyes to this great fact. It is 
true ; for it is nothing else but the practical applica- 
tion of an old law of our nature, which teaches that, 
by action and reaction, our daily words and works 
exert an influence for good or evil on the lives of our 
fellow -creatures, and that this influence extends to 
the remotest generations. Do we give to this find- 
ing of reason and revelation the consideration it 
deserves ? Do we realize, before acting and speak- 
ing, that we shall surely reap in eternity what we 
have sown here ? 

But, it may be said, the world recognizes no such 
teaching. Well, what matters it to us if the world 
ridicules such a law, if it rejects such a doctrine ? 
What care we, if it tells its votaries the past is past, 
dead and buried, and its relations with it severed 
forever ? Must we accept its dictum ? Must we 
bend the knee to its authority ? Are we slaves of 
the world ? Too long, dear Christians, has this in- 
genious enemy deceived us ; too long has it swayed 
our thoughts and ruled our hearts. It is now high 
time that we begin to see and understand the fact 
that the past does not and cannot die. 

We cannot meditate on this truth too often, or 
too deeply, nor can we begin too soon to profess, 
practically, our faith in the eternity of our years and 
days. As we are immortal, though we die, so are 
they. They will rise again to meet us before the 
judgment seat of Christ, where they will stand, as 
defenders or accusers, pleading for either our jus- 



34 Father Walsh 

tification or our condemnation. Hence, you see, 
dearly beloved in Christ, the infinite worth, and the 
real duration of the days and the years allotted by 
God to you and me. 

Happy those who take this lesson to heart. 
Happy, thrice happy, are those who use their time 
to make their lives sublime, to strengthen faith, to 
spread charity, to kindle burning aspirations, to set 
noble examples, to make the aim of society more 
earnest, to make homes pure, to make life simple ; 
for those who do this, exert, beyond a doubt, a most 
beneficent influence upon the lives and characters of 
countless others, and dying, leave the world a little 
nobler, a little wiser, a little purer, a little better, for 
their presence ; and the credit thereof redounds to 
their eternal honor and glory. 

But there is another interesting fact connected 
with the mystery we call time, and it is this : the 
future will demonstrate, to our entire satisfaction, 
the nothingness of human calculations, the fallacy of 
the old saying : ' ' Coming events cast their shadow 
before." We cannot fathom God's designs ; and the 
result is many of us will find, ere the new year is 
done, that life is full of surprises. The past may 
have brought us pleasure, prosperity and peace. 
Will the future be as kind ? What do experience and 
observation answer ? Only this, and nothing more : 
"Man proposes; God disposes." We have seen 
during the year that is closing the brightest hopes 
brought to naught, and the happiest homes ruth- 
lessly and suddenly destroyed. Nor does it require 
the power of prophetic vision to foresee that twelve 
months hence little will be left to tell the story of 
other heavy trials and crushing disappointments, 
save, perhaps, some saddened, broken heart, or, it 
may be, some vacant chair, or a mournful silence, so 
suggestive of an absent voice or a missing footstep. 

This is an awful consequence of sin, which puts 



Sermons 35 

a blight and a curse on all things it touches. Human 
misery must exist ; it has no remedy. There will be 
heard, perhaps, in many a household, during the year, 
joyous salutations of welcome ; but in as many other 
homes we may be sure, there will be shed the bitter, 
blinding tears of farewell. The cradle and the grave 
are never very far apart, and the solemn strain of 
the requiem strikes upon the ear quite as frequently 
as the soothing sound of a mother's lullaby. Is 
there nothing in this awful truth to cause us to stop 
and reflect? 

Reflection, of course, will not stop the fleeting 
years ; it will not even ward off the troubles that are 
bound to try us, like gold in the furnace ; but it will 
enable us to meet and bear them with patience and 
courage. To an earnest Christian, reflection means 
nothing else than a preparation to face death, if God 
so desires ; preparation to fight the good fight, to run 
the race, and to keep the faith. We all know what 
it is to fight the good fight. We know how hard it 
is to conquer sin and Satan, to break the chains of 
temptation, and to destroy the tyranny of habit. 
The best and bravest of us are sometimes surprised 
and overpowered by the enemies of our souls. 

God grant that we may not despair like those 
who have no hope. There is strength and victory 
for all in the saving sacraments of Christ, which too 
many of us so seldom use, and with such little profit 
to our souls. The result is palpable. Though sur- 
rounded with the greatest spiritual advantages and 
blessings, some people seem to degenerate : to grow, 
day by day, meaner and more contemptible in the 
eyes of God. The New Year always has a surprise 
in store for one or more of those traitors to the cause 
of Christ. Death is even now ready to purge the 
Church and society of their presence. 

If hardened sinners will not learn by grace, let 
them profit, at least, from the experience of others, 



36 Father Walsh 

who have lived and died in sin. Too much cannot be 
expected of God ; but when kindness fails, when 
gentle pleadings fail, then will His anger come, and 
hurry off to an unholy and perhaps untimely grave, 
the profligate son, the wayward daughter, the care- 
less mother, the drunken father, the unscrupulous 
merchant, the dishonest official. Sinners are on the 
losing side ; they are the allies of a lost cause, 
whereas those who love and serve God, who use well 
the allotted years of life, fear nothing, not even the 
worst tidings, the heaviest afflictions. When in- 
formed by sorrowing friends of the near approach of 
death, they will be able to say with a great Saint : 
Yes ; I know it ; it is no news to me. I have 
long expected it ; I have prepared for it." 

These are a few thoughts, it seems to me, be- 
fitting the last Sunday of the year. I commend them 
to you all, my brethren ; but there are some to 
whom I commend them in a very special manner, 
namely, to those who are to die sooner than they 
or we expect. When the captains of Israel were 
assembled together at Ramoth, the messenger of 
Eliseus appeared in their midst and said : 'I have a 
message for you, Prince ! " And they all asked : 
' 'For which one of us?" But the messenger was 
unable to answer. So, I feel this morning as if I 
had a message for some of you, in particular, though 
I do not know who they are. 

The message is that which the Prophet Jeremias 
once sent to Hananias : ' ' Thus saith the Lord : 
This year shalt thou die. ' ' How many were with us a 
year ago who have since joined the silent majority ? 
How many of you who are sitting here to-day, will 
be here a year hence ? It is unwise to count on the 
future. Let us improve the present day and hour. 
"Let us work faithfully, for the night is coming 
when no man worketh." Let us strive to become 
better sons and daughters, better fathers and moth- 



Sermons 37 

ers, better Christians and citizens. Thus shall we 
draw ever nearer and nearer to God, until the 
present strife is changed into victory, and fleeting 
years into a blessed eternity. 



EPIPHANY. 



" We have seen his star in the East, and 
are come to adore him."— St. Matt, ii, 2. 

Dearly Beloved Brethren : 

To-day we celebrate the feast of the Epiph- 
any — a solemnity around which will ever center an 
interest and a charm, second only to that of Christ- 
mas itself. This assertion may sound to some very 
like an exaggeration, but it is not so, for, if each 
year we are permitted to re-visit in spirit the scenes 
of the Incarnation, and to kneel, in faith, at the feet 
of the Babe of Bethlehem, we owe this privilege to 
the love, and mercy, and goodness of God, who, on 
the day of the Epiphany, revealed to the whole world 
this great truth, namely, that the Christ-child was 
born to be the Saviour of all men, of every race, 
and tribe, and tongue, under the broad canopy of 
heaven. 

Thus, manifestation of the purposes of the In- 
1 carnation was indeed a glorious revelation— espe- 
cially to the Gentile world, which the sin of Adam 
had left a hopeless, a faithless, a fatherless family. 
In fact, it is not too much to say that the Epiphany 
marks the beginning of a new era in human life and 
history ; it brought back joy and happiness to the 
heart of humanity, and proclaimed once and forever 
that darkness and despair must give place to light 
and hope, and that eternal death must cease to be 
the dread dream of the poor sinner, who had hither- 
to seen childhood fading into manhood, manhood into 



38 Father Walsh 

old age, and old age ending in a grave, as deep and 
as dark as hell itself. 

And, how, brethren, were the plans of God, how 
was this manifestation of redemption to the Gentile 
world made known ? In a peculiar and unique way. 
There appeared in the streets of Jerusalem three 
men, whose striking garb and manners plainly 
showed that they had come from the East. To the 
curious crowd that gathered around them to inquire 
as to the nature of their visit, they told this strange 
story. They said that for many centuries a tradition 
had survived among their people to the effect that a 
Saviour was to be born into the world, and that a 
miraculous star was to appear in the heavens, as a 
sign and a proof of His advent. They added that 
for hundreds of years, the wisest and most learned 
among their countrymen had made a deep and patient 
study of the heavenly bodies, in the hope of being 
the first to find traces of that extraordinary light. 
But all the science of the East seemed to be of no 
avail. Men watched and waited, seemingly, in vain. 
It began to look as though the tradition was, after 
all, a myth, when, unexpectedly, it was given to 
those three strangers to discover the long-sought- 
for star. They assured the Jews that they had 
found it impossible to resist the mysterious power 
that impelled them to leave their homes and go in 
search of the Saviour. They solemnly affirmed that 
the star which they had seen in the East directed 
their steps by day and by night, until it had led 
them to the very gates of Jerusalem, when, suddenly, 
it had disappeared from their view, leaving them 
strangers in a strange land. Their visit had but one 
object : to find the birthplace of the Saviour. They 
asked but one question : ' ' Where is He that is born 
King of the Jews ? " 

Naturally, such a question and such a mission 
threw Jerusalem into the greatest consternation. 



Sermons 39 

Herod and his friends were filled with the greatest 
apprehensions. The king thought that another had 
come to dispute with him his royal powers and pre- 
rogatives ; consequently, consultations were imme- 
diately held at the palace. The chief priests and 
scribes were hurriedly summoned together and 
ordered to examine most carefully the sacred writ- 
ings. This was done — so well done, dearly beloved 
brethren, that then, for the first time, the light and 
truth of God dawned upon the Jewish nation. 

Yes ; a Saviour had been born, and His birth- 
place was Bethlehem. There could be no mistake. 
The words of the prophecy were too plain ; for in 
the long, long ago, the Inspired Penman had written 
these words : ' ' And thou, Bethlehem, the land of 
Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda ; 
for, out of thee shall come forth the Ruler, who shall 
rule My people, Israel." Having obtained this much 
information, the three strangers resolved to resume 
their pious pilgrimage. So, taking leave of the 
Jewish capital, they went on their way, and behold, 
just as the gate of the city closed behind them, their 
guide — the miraculous star — re-appeared in the sky. 
It led them first to Bethlehem, then to the stable, 
and finally to the feet of Jesus Christ, the God -made 
man. 

What happened thereafter is best told in the 
closing words of the Gospel. St. Matthew says : 
1 ' And going in, they found the child with Mary, His 
mother, and falling down, they adored Him." This 
journey of the Magi, and their adoration of the 
Christ-child, suggest to the mind, dearly beloved 
brethren, two thoughts of the supreme-most impor- 
tance. In the first place, they remind us of the 
wise men's fidelity to the inspiration of Divine grace. 
Had we been in their place, would we have made 
the same generous, patient, and persevering effort 
to find the Saviour ? And secondly : having found 



40 Father Walsh 

Him, would we have been as quick as they were to 
recognize, amid such lowly surroundings, the divinity 
of that poor little Helpless Babe ? On this point 
there is room for well-grounded doubt. But, doubt 
as we may, brethren, it is still true to say, that the 
Son of God, coming as He did, in the guise of a 
child, and in poverty, was the only perfect and satis- 
fying fulfilment of humanity's cravings. 

In other words, the world would have brought 
about the Incarnation, just as it happened, if such 
a thing were at all possible ; for, let us remember, 
dearly beloved in Christ, a poor cradle and poverty 
were more in keeping with the mission of Him who 
came to seek and to save, not a special class, but 
the masses of humanity, who were living and dying 
in misery. Christ was no class God, and hence, 
on the occasion of the Magi's visit, there was no 
flaunting of might and majesty, no vulgar display 
of grandeur and wealth. 

Those three travel -stained and weary men are 
supposed to have represented the sin-stained and 
toil-worn portion of the human family, and, had that 
stable at Bethlehem been a palace instead, we may 
rest assured they would never have approached its 
doors, and why ? The reason is obvious. Luxurious 
surroundings generally stand for human greatness, 
and human greatness has never had but scanty 
regard for the poor, the weak, and the lowly. 
Wealth has usually nothing better to offer poverty 
than a haughty look, or, at best, a patronizing smile. 
Hence, God did wisely, and even well, to provide 
against even the appearance of affluence, and the 
display of position and power. 

In doing this, the Most High taught us the name 
and nature, and value of humility. He emphasized, 
too, the fact that with Christ the humblest home 
may be as much as the most gorgeous palace, while 
without Him, the most magnificent mansion is even 
less than the lowliest stable. 



Sermons 41 

But there is still to learn from the Magi's visit, 
the lesson of strong and deep faith. The Gospel 
says : * Going in, they found the child with Mary, 
His Mother, and falling down, they adored Him. M 
Modern thought, higher criticism, human science, 
or call it by whatever name you will, may possibly 
sneer at this Divine picture. Nowadays men are apt 
to say that this child cannot be the Son of God ; that 
it is beneath the dignity of the Supreme Divinity 
to be born in poverty, to live in suffering, and 
to submit to humiliation. To such an objection we 
have only to say that fools have, in every age of 
the world's existence, thought themselves great and 
learned men, to whom, even the mysteries of God,, 
must be made clear. There are, and should be, no 
secrets from science. Whatever modern thought 
cannot fathom, must be, as a matter of course, 
rejected as unreasonable, as well as unintelligible, 
at least, so say modern thinkers. We pity the 
pride that cannot realize that God's ways are not 
our ways, nor His thoughts our thoughts. When 
human ignorance, sometimes called human science^ 
or higher criticism, has done its worst, it will be 
found to have been powerless to undo the place 
of omnipotence, or the work of infinite wisdom 
and love. We will go even further and declare, 
brethren, that the God of human thought never has 
been and never will be the God of humanity ; and 
why ? Because man expected and needed a God like 
unto Himself in all things, save sin. He looked 
for a Saviour with human faculties and attributes. 
He sought for one who, like Himself, could see, 
and hear, and talk, and think. For, let us bear in 
mind, the Redeemer was to be a teacher, a friend, 
and a father. Now, could we conceive of one exer- 
cising the functions of teacher, friend and parent, 
who would not, or could not, for instance, speak to 
us, His children, neither in our cradles, nor in our 



42 Father Walsh 

homes, nor in our temptations, nor in our sorrows ? 
Why, the supposition is absurd, and so the Wise 
Men from the East acted rationally, as well as rev- 
erently, when, falling down, they adored the Child 
Jesus. 

Again, man sighed to see his Saviour. When 
Venerable Simeon beheld the Infant Christ in the 
temple on the feast of the Purification, he felt that 
all the pious desires of his heart had been at last 
fulfilled, that all the prayers of his long life had been 
answered. Hence his memorable act of thanksgiv- 
ing to heaven : * ' And now mayest thou dismiss thy 
servant, Lord, in peace, according to Thy word, 
for my eyes have seen Thy salvation/' 

Yes, brethren, the human family longed to hear 
and see its Saviour. It saw and heard Him, and was 
glad. And that privilege, once accorded to the Gen- 
tile world, has never been withdrawn. We Catholics 
enjoy it to-day quite as much as did the Magi. Do 
you ask when, and where, and how ? Whenever we 
kneel down with contrite hearts before the Bethle- 
hem of our altar. Yes, loving Lord, present in our 
tabernacles and upon our altar, Thou art the same 
Christ who was once a child in the stable at Bethle- 
hem. We see Thee with spiritual eyes, we hear Thy 
voice with spiritual ears— eyes and ears that are even 
more real than those of the body. 

This being the language of faith, we fear it may 
be unintelligible to those outside of the household ; 
we fear it may be too deep for even lukewarm Cath- 
olics. May God reveal its full meaning to everyone 
here present, and manifest its truth to every mind, 
even as He manifested the Divinity of His only be- 
gotten Son, full of grace and truth, to the Magi on 
the day of the Epiphany. 



Sermons 43 

FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS. 

CHRISTIAN HOPE. 

'Why are you fearful, ye of little 
faith ?"— Matt, viii, 26, 

Dearly Beloved Brethren : 

It may sometimes happen to you, as it has hap- 
pened frequently to us, to meet persons who look 
upon the Holy Scriptures merely as a history of past 
events, and imagine that the declarations, the warn- 
ings, and the promises contained in them are to be con- 
fined to those in whose hearing they were made. 

That such a view of the Sacred Volume is anti- 
Christian no one will deny ; it is obvious that such 
an idea necessarily narrows the scope of the Redemp- 
tion ; it limits God's love for many millions, yea, 
countless millions, made in His own image and like- 
ness, and, what is worse than all else, humanly 
speaking, it mercilessly snatches from us the very 
ground upon which rests our Christian hope. 

Hope, as you know, dearly beloved brethren, is 
a blessed boon, a priceless gift, which finds its prin- 
ciple in faith and its perfection in charity. Like a 
sparkling spring, it bubbles up in every heart un- 
bidden, and its waters have proved to be a never- 
failing remedy for human fears and tears. So we 
say to-day, in the language of a savant and a saint, 
1 ' Let an unbelieving world, whose constant endeavor 
it has been to explain away the sacred and saving 
dogmas of Christianity, think and reason as it may, 
we trust that the day will never come when it shall 
ever attempt to rob the human family of its ' Hope 
inGod? ,,, 

It were better for the newly-born babe to be 
stifled in its cradle than to be deprived of this ines- 
timable virtue, for we who have attained unto the 



44 Father Walsh 

years of manhood and womanhood have felt, or will 
be made to feel, its soothing nature and its sustaining 
power. In sickness and in suffering, in sorrow and 
sadness, in disappointment and death, the children 
of God have no other source from which to draw con- 
solation and courage. Take away the bright star of 
hope, and there remains to us nothing but a long 
night of gloom and despair. 

There are times when, figuratively speaking, we 
are tossed about by the winds of trouble ; times when 
the waves of weakness seem about to engulf us for- 
ever, but, when the storm rages fiercest, and our 
spirits seem lowest, a mysterious light suddenly 
flashes in upon us, and an unknown voice gently 
chides us, saying: "Why are you fearful, ye of 
little faith : look unto me, and be ye saved . . . 
for I am God, and there is none other.' ' 

No, my brethren, there is none but God to calm 
and console us in distress and suffering ; none but 
Him to strengthen and support us under the press- 
ure of heavy trials. Life's struggles are not fewer 
to-day than they were nineteen centuries ago ; and 
He who stilled the roaring billows and the boisterous 
winds, as we are told by St. Matthew, will, and 
alone can drive away the fears that agitate our 
hearts, and soften the sorrows that all but over- 
whelm our souls. But, notwithstanding Christ's 
promise to help us, my brethren; despite His ex- 
press commands to look unto Him, there are those 
that seek elsewhere than in His love and strength a 
remedy for their spiritual and temporal afflictions, as 
"if mercy's eye had grown dim, and God's right 
hand had been shortened." 

Indeed, there are reasons to believe that the 
Apostles themselves fell into just such an error at 
the first approach of the gathering storm. For, ac- 
customed, as many of them were, to the sea and to 
sailing, they were naturally inclined to rely upon their 



Sermons 45 

own exertions, upon their own skill in the safe man- 
agement of their bark. And to human judgments 
their calculations were correct. Only in the wake- 
ful mind of the sleeping Christ did there exist other 
and different thoughts. He wished to teach hu- 
manity to build its hopes, not on its own weaknesses, 
but on His power and mercy. 

Hence, He permitted a great tempest to rise in 
the sea, so that " the ship was covered with waves." 
It was a perilous position, and perilous positions 
always beget either great courage or great coward- 
ice. In this particular instance, the courage of the 
Apostles gave place to fear, feeling as they did, that 
no created power could appease the angry winds and 
calm the troubled sea. What, then, did they do ? 
What were they forced to do in such an emergency ? 
Let the Gospel tell us : " And His disciples came to 
Him, and waked Him, saying, Lord, save us, we 
perish/ ' 

My brethren, how consoling it should be for us, 
Christians, children of God, and heirs of heaven, to 
remember, in the hour of dark trial, those words of 
triumphant trust in Christ. Nothing should be, or 
could be, a stronger incentive for us to keep con- 
stantly the lamp of Christian hope brightly burning 
at the door of our hearts ; for there is not a day of 
the week, nor an hour of the day, that does not bring 
to millions of human beings its burden of misery and 
misfortune. 

According to Holy Job, our life is short, and our 
years are full of trial. We are born in tears, we live 
in suffering, we die in pain. Our pathway through 
this world is everywhere bestrewn with crosses, lined 
with thorns. To-day, a relation abandons us ; a 
friend betrays us ; a neighbor persecutes us ; a son, 
it may be, disgraces us. To-morrow, reverses over- 
takes us ; sickness will come upon us ; disease will 
rack our frames ; death will visit our homes. These 
are trials that must be patiently endured. 



46 Father Walsh 

But how shall we bear with such visitations, we 
who by nature are so poorly adapted to physical and 
mental suffering ? A little worry of ttimes suffices to 
kill ambition, and a nervous strain is quick to rob us 
of our buoyancy, and to take from us the attractive 
glow of health. Shall we, can we, bear life's sor- 
rows all alone ? No ; we need help, and our help is 
in the Lord. Do we feel crushed ? Have we fallen 
by the wayside ? If so, Christian hope bids us to be 
of good heart, and to come to Him who alone can 
refresh us. Yes, God will restore peace to the heavy 
hearts, and calm to the troubled and tortured minds 
of those who trust in Him ; for His promise to hear 
His people on whatsoever day they might cry out 
to Him must be interpreted as having been made to 
every age, and to all classes of persons without dis- 
tinction. 

This thought should afford unspeakable consola- 
tion, especially to sinners, since the wilful violation 
of God's law brings with it the keenest anguish. 
The sinner, as well as the just man, may look unto 
God for that peace which surpasseth all understand- 
ing. At the first faint cry of mercy, he will find 
help and forgiveness. True, the sinner cannot go to 
our Blessed Lord and say to Him in person, as did 
the Apostles : "Lord, save us, we perish/ ' but the 
efficacy of that prayer remains unto the end of time, 
and its repetition at any hour of the day, in the 
hearing of Christ's consecrated minister, is sure to 
bring needed and prompt relief. 

What reason, then, can there be for despond- 
ency or despair ? One thing only is necessary to 
drive away our fears, and that one thing is Christian 
hope, joined with the determination of looking unto 
God. Nothing illustrates quite so clearly the nature 
of this duty as the state of the wounded and afflicted 
Israelites when they looked to the brazen serpent. 
They felt their wounds ; they knew them to be in- 



Sermons 47 

curable by human art ; they were convinced that they 
must quickly perish if they did not use the appointed 
means. And they turned their eyes towards it, trust- 
ing implicitly in the efficacy of its cure. Immediate 
and permanent recovery was the reward of this act 
of hope. 

And, so must you and I, dearly beloved 
brethren, hope and trust in Jesus Christ, and look 
unto Him if we would outride the storms of life, and 
at its end gain the happy harbor of blessed immor- 
tality. Amen. 



THIRD SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS. 

"To no man rendering evil for evil." — 
Rom. xii, 17. 

Dearly Beloved Brethren : 

As there is a wide difference between the saint 
and the sinner, so there are strong marks of dis- 
crimination between those who are truly Christian, 
and those who merely profess the Christian religion, 
without ever knowing or feeling its transforming 
power and efficacy. 

Those, for instance, who, like the Divine Master 
and Model, can bless them who revile Him, and pray 
for them who persecute and calumniate Him. Such 
a spirit, where it does exist, is to be found only in 
God's predestined souls ; it is one of the signs of 
disciplehood ; for, in the long ago, Our Blessed 
Saviour said to His assembled Apostles : ' ' By this, 
shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you 
love one another. ' ' 

But like all honors worth the having, it plainly 
requires no ordinary effort, on our part, to win the 
proud title of " a true disciple of Jesus,' ' and ere we 
can claim it we must submit to the trying tests laid 



48 Father Walsh 

down by Christ, when He commands, as He does to- 
day, to ' ' render to no man evil for evil. " These tests 
are trying to human nature, for there are, as we all 
know, my brethren, given times when most men and 
women deem it the very essence of weakness to 
show the loving and forgiving spirit of the gentle 
Jesus. 

It is, indeed, natural for us to love those who 
are bound to us by the ties of kinship, or by the 
bonds of friendship ; it is easy for us to be kind and 
obliging to strangers ; but is not the very name or 
sight of an enemy amply sufficient to stir up in the 
liearts of many of us revengf ul thoughts and feelings 
that are anything but Christian ? Say what we 
will, we must admit, there are times when many of 
us would gladly substitute the narrow spirit of pa- 
ganism for the wiser, more liberal, and more perfect 
law of Jesus Christ. And when He says: 'Love 
your enemies, and render to no man evil for evil, ' ' 
we would say : Let us hate our enemies ; let us 
curse them who calumniate us, and revile them who 
oppose us. 

Such is the language of nominal Christians, such 
the conclusions of reason unenlightened by grace. 
But, tell me, whither does such a doctrine, if rigidly 
adhered to, lead us ? Where shall we stand on the 
great Judgment Day, if God judges us, as surely 
He will, according to our own standards, and measures 
unto us even as we have measured unto others ? 
Suppose that, on this very morning, He were to vent 
His hatred of sin, and avenge Himself of our many 
transgressions ; to whom would we turn for mercy, 
we who now consider it a weakness to obey the law 
of love, and to forgive everyone, our brother, from 
our heart ? 

My brethren, were our Creator and our Judge to 
remember our offences, and, as Holy David says, to 
reward us according to our iniquities done in the flesh, 



Sermons 49 

surely we would all be reduced to the most complete 
misery and utter hopelessness, even in this life. 
For we cannot, we must not forget that everything 
we have and enjoy in this world we owe to the mu- 
nificence of a God whom we offend so often and so 
ignominiously. By sin we have more than once for- 
feited our right to prosperity, to wealth, to happiness, 
to health, to life itself. Well might we say with the 
Psalmist: "Thy mercy, Lord, is above ail Thy 
works.' ' Remember, too, we are indebted to God 
for the wondrous planets ; they give to our earth 
light and heat, without which our present existence 
would be impossible ; we are indebted to Him for 
the marvelous beauties of creation that charm our 
senses, and for the countless secrets stolen from 
nature that contribute so materially to our own 
comfort and enjoyment. All these blessings, and 
more, too, are the loving and living impressions of 
His kindly feeling and liberality towards us whose 
every sin is a new insult to His Divine Majesty. 

To mercy, then, we owe our preservation and 
present happiness, and to mercy also we shall be 
indebted for eternal happiness, if, indeed, it be our 
good fortune to attain unto the end of our creation. 

Who are they, then, who can consider it any 
longer a weakness "to render to no man evil for 
evil," or to overlook an insult, or to show themselves 
generous and large-hearted towards an enemy ? To 
persevere in such a thought is a virtual admission 
that we have wilfully closed our eyes and our ears to 
the words and to the example of Christ, Our Lord, 
and that we have sadly fallen from the sublime 
heights where once stood our sainted forefathers in 
the Faith. 

Look back, my brethren, to the days of Roman 
persecution. See the children of the Church led 
forth to die for the amusement of a brutal and blood- 
thirsty populace. While the enemies of Christianity 



50 Father Walsh 

applauded the cruel work of the wild beasts, angels 
might have seen the faces of the dying soldiers of 
Christ wreathed in smiles as their lips uttered that 
prayer so full of touching memories : " ' Father, for- 
give them, for they know not what they do." And 
we can well understand how the early Christians 
could thus pray for their enemies. Unlike us, they 
recognized a distinction between their neighbor and 
their neighbor's fault. 

It is an axiom in philosophy that like substances 
are never contrary to each other. Hence, it is not 
only the most unchristian, but also the most un- 
natural thing in the world, for a human being to hate 
a fellow-creature, for we have all one and the same 
nature, and are created in the image and likeness of 
the same God. We must distinguish between our 
neighbor and our neighbor's faults. What we should 
hate is our neighbor's vice, his passion, his injustice, 
his untruthfulness, his dishonesty, his cruelty, his 
avarice, and these defects are precisely what we 
must fight against, persecute and destroy, if possible. 
But this result we can never hope to accomplish by 
rendering evil for evil to our neighbor. To destroy 
effectively anything, common sense tells us that we 
must make use of a means whose nature is contrary 
to that of the thing we wish to destroy. For in- 
stance, a fire is never extinguished by another fire, 
but by water. And, as it is in the material world, 
so it is in the spiritual. One enmity is never over- 
come by another enmity, but by kindness and cour- 
tesy. Anger is conquered by patience, hatred by 
love, vice by virtue, and evil by good. 

There is one apparent reason why we so readily 
render evil for evil. We act, many of us, from mis- 
apprehensions. Generally speaking, we are quick to 
attribute mean, petty, unchristian motives to our 
neighbor, whenever his actions hurt or displease us. 
My brethren, this is radically wrong ; for it is neces- 



Sermons 51 

sary to distinguish between the action and the inten- 
tion ; for, where there is no bad intention, there can 
be no possible cause for offence. There is no law 
known to either God or man that holds guilty of 
murder a person who kills another unintentionally. 
The same principle holds good for every human act. 
Hence, if our neighbor succeeds by fair means in sup- 
planting us in any enterprise, or business, or office, it 
does not necessarily follow that his intention was to 
hurt our interests. He may have intended only to 
advance his own. Again, if our neighbor appeals to 
the strong arm of the law to punish us for slander, it 
does not necessarily follow that his intention was to 
inflict suffering and disgrace upon a fellow-man. He 
may have only intended to vindicate himself, and do 
as every innocent, manly man should do, preserve 
unsullied his fair name and reputation. 

From these premises, and from historical facts, 
it is clear, beyond doubt, that much of the misery of 
the world has been caused by misapprehensions. A 
misinterpreted word or action has ofttimes led to the 
direst calamities and the darkest deeds, to cruel dis- 
sentions, to foul murders, and even to bloody wars. 
It is hard for us, Christians, the children of God, to 
be obliged to make such an admission ; but it were 
better to know the truth, for the truth may set us 
free, and revive in some of our hearts the generous 
and forgiving spirit of the Saviour. In days gone 
by, pagans paid to the Christians this most beautiful 
of tributes : they said among themselves, * ' See how 
the Christians love one another." To-day that trib- 
ute is true only in a restricted sense. It applies 
only to the few. 

The Primitive Church was too fair a garden not 
to arouse the jealousy of the enemy. The devil was 
jealous. Something had to be done to weaken one of 
the strongest pillars of the Christian religion. So, 
Satan, the inventor of ways that are dark and of 



52 Father Walsh 

tricks that are mean, began to sow in the Christian 
heart the seeds of dissention and quarrels, of hatred, 
anger, envy and jealousy. He suggests to the proud 
heart, when wounded, to seek revenge, and to render 
to every man evil for evil. Woe to them who feed 
their minds and hearts on such thoughts. They are 
as far from the thoughts and counsels of God as 
heaven is from hell. 

My brethren, no power on earth, or under the 
earth, or above the earth, can prevent a creature en- 
dowed with free will from making a free choice be- 
tween God and Satan. The choice must be made, so 
let us make it without any thought of compromise. 
If you choose to follow the Lord God of heaven and 
earth, then repeat to yourselves on every one of the 
seven days of the week: We will "love our 
enemies " and "render to no man evil for evil." 



SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY. 

" The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain 
of mustard seed, which is indeed the least of 
all seeds ; but when it is grown up it is 
greater than any herbs and becometh a tree." 
—Matt, xiii, 31-32. 

Dearly Beloved Brethren : 

In looking for the ideals of beauty and truth in 
learning, literature, and eloquence, we have never 
found anywhere anything so truly sublime and as 
sublimely true as the simple parables of our Blessed 
Lord. 

The world may glory in its wealth of thought, 
the nations may boast of their wisdom and eloquence ; 
but where is the man, be he sage, savant or orator, 
who ever spoke as did Jesus of Nazareth, for all 
classes, for all countries, and for all ages ? Few, even 



Sermons 53 

among the master minds of this earth, have been 
able to hold the admiration and the interest of a 
single century. Nineteen centuries and more have 
passed since Jesus opened His mouth in parables, 
and still, the effect of His preaching is seen and felt 
to the present day. The passing years have served 
to unfold only the truth and the beauty of His teach- 
ing, and to strengthen His hold on the hearts of His 
children. 

For proof of this we need not go beyond the 
Gospel narrative of this Sunday, in which our Divine 
Lord compares the early struggles and ultimate de- 
velopment of His visible kingdom of Heaven, namely, 
His holy Church upon earth, to the sowing and the 
growing of the humble mustard seed. A truer and 
more beautiful comparison was never made. In the 
first place, dearly beloved brethren, of all the plants, 
and flowers, and trees, and vines, and shrubs, and 
herbs, that grow in the East, none is thought so little 
of as the mustard tree. Its seed is merely planted, 
and the rest is left entirely to the care of Providence ; 
still, it thrives. 

So was it, and so is it to-day, with the Church of 
Christ. There is, perhaps, no place on earth where 
Christianity is so little prized as in the East. There, 
God alone may be said to keep religion alive. Mil- 
lions of people are conveniently near the places and 
the land that were once blessed and honored by the 
Saviour's presence. But they have not cherished 
His memory as they should ; neither have they held 
His name in reverence and benediction, as we had a 
natural right to expect they should. 

Another thought, showing the truth and the 
beauty of this comparison made by Christ between 
the Church and the mustard seed, is this : the pro- 
cess of their evolution is very much the same. A few 
words will be sufficient to make this clear to the 
least intelligent. The mustard seed is sown in the 



54 Father Walsh 

ground, and though lost sight of for a time, it grows 
up, greater than any herbs, and bye-and-bye be- 
cometh a tree. Who does not perceive that this is 
very like the development of Christ's kingdom upon 
earth ? For, tell me, dearly beloved brethren, whence 
did Christianity spring and spread ? Was it not from 
the tomb of the buried Christ ? How she has at- 
tained to such magnificent proportions, how she has 
grown to be such an important factor in the affairs 
of the world, will always be a wonder to angels, and 
something of a mystery to men. 

Friend and foe thought that the Christian re- 
ligion had found a grave on Good Friday evening, 
when loving hands had taken the Saviour's body 
down from the cross and reverently laid it in the 
tomb. They thought, no doubt, when a few friends 
of humanity's friend had rolled the stone over against 
the door of the sepulchre, that its fate was sealed. 
But they were mistaken ; there was life, there was 
an invisible and invincible God hidden behind the 
sepulchre door, and the proof of it is not only in the 
Resurrection that occurred three days later, but also 
in the subsequent and rapid spread of the faith 
which Jesus had come to teach and to preach. In 
spite of persecutions, in spite of heresy, in spite of 
ignorance and indifference, in spite of treachery, in 
spite of the sneers and the scoffings of the ungodly, 
the Church has increased and prospered beyond all 
earthly expectations and all human expectations. 

See her stately cathedrals, majestic without and 
devotional within, rising up all over the land ; count 
her churches, her chapels and her altars, erected in 
all parts of the country ; reflect on the number of 
her devoted religious, doing God's work and saving 
souls ; think of her institutions of mercy and charity, 
receiving the wretched and the unfortunate of all 
creeds and of no creed ; witness her seminaries, her 
academies and her parish schools, blessed fruit of a 



Sermons 55 

self-sacrificing charity. Remember all this, dearly 
beloved brethren, and we shall find reasons not only 
to cling to the inheritance handed down to us by our 
forefathers, but also to give the Church of Christ at 
all times, as they gave to her, every proof of our 
best love and filial obedience. 

These virtues have been in the past the great 
safeguards of religion. They brought about and 
have maintained among Catholics a union of minds 
and hearts and hands, and in that union there has 
been strength and promise. There are in our midst 
to-day millions of men and women who have the 
same love and obedience for the Spouse of Christ 
that characterized other days. Then why may we not 
look for a greater growth of the seed of truth which 
our Blessed Lord has sown in the New World ? Why 
may we not take the present strength of Catholicity 
as an earnest of her future greatness in this repub- 
lic ? Surely no one could blame us for so doing ; 
for, dearly beloved brethren, looking at her to-day, 
Holy Mother Church reminds us of 

"A beauteous face, in which were meet, 
Fair records, promises as sweet." 

Moreover, it is a common rule with most men to 
gauge the future by the past. But this may be 
taking an optimistic view of the future ; we may be 
losing sight of the fact that, while there are reasons 
to feel encouraged to believe in the ultimate triumph 
of our Holy Faith, there are also fears that should 
dissuade and discourage us from holding too high 
hopes. 

Let us give a moment's consideration to these 
hopes and fears. One source of encouragement for 
the future is that the Catholic Church never grows 
old, in the sense that she may some day become too 
feeble to carry on the work of converting and saving 
souls. Endowed with the life of God Himself, her 



56 Father Walsh 

youth is immortal, and the coming years can bring 
no furrow to her brow. Then, again, religion is un- 
hampered here. We and our Church are free in this 
land of liberty ; this is a blessing that cannot but 
call forth the best and noblest efforts of both priests 
and people for the spreading of God's kingdom on 
earth. Let tyranny and oppression stand aside, and 
the light and influence of truth will, and must, reach 
into every human heart, unless they be barred out 
by two well-known and justly feared excesses ; I 
mean intemperance and liberalism in the education 
of the rising generation. 

Would, brethren, that we could grapple victori- 
ously with these two monsters ! We can assure you 
that then there would be no misgivings as to the 
future of our Church. But we cannot see in sight 
the day of this wished-for triumph, and so our holy 
faith must plod along slowly, almost imperceptibly. 
Christian parent, do you wish to hand down to others 
the previous inheritance of your Saviour's light and 
love ? If you do, then remember that the end of 
education is, not precisely knowledge, but wisdom 
and morality. Therefore, give to the little ones 
committed to your care and keeping all the blessed 
advantages of a Christian training. Afford them 
every opportunity of learning virtue, as well as read- 
ing ; and true nobility of character, as well as gram- 
mar. What will it avail you, later on, if your 
daughters become indifferent Catholics and your sons 
cultured infidels and refined pagans ? Woe to you 
and woe to them! It were better that a millstone 
had been tied around your necks, and that you and 
they had been cast into the sea. I have only one 
word more to add to this hard saying. That word is 
this : to deny spiritual instruction to souls craving 
for it, is to commit a sin that cries to heaven for ven- 
geance. It is to stifle in the men and the women of 
to-morrow, all love and all obedience for the Church 
of God. 



Sermons 57 

Some of you people have ears to hear, but hear 
not ; then remember, the least of all God's priests 
pleaded, but pleaded in vain, for the cause of 
religion and the souls of Christ's little ones. In ad- 
vocating sound, Christian, Catholic education, let us, 
in the same breath, insist on the virtue of Temper- 
ance. The former, without the latter, is a positive 
curse to the world. The latter, without the former, 
can contribute little or nothing to the spreading of 
the Faith. One, without the other, is like the 
builder who takes down with one hand what he puts 
up with the other. There is, perhaps, no vice in 
God's world to-day that has wrecked more hopes and 
homes, or broken more hearts, or filled more graves, 
or damned more souls, than intemperance. 

The Church herself realizes this fact, and she 
can never, and will never, close her eyes to this awful 
evil. She has never befriended nor defended 
drunkenness, as some of her enemies have attested, 
for she knew that by so doing she would be nourish- 
ing in her own bosom the very seeds of death. 
Now, intemperance, dearly beloved brethren, exists 
in our own midst, in our own city, in our own parish. 
It is working incalculable injury to religion and a 
monstrous injustice to our youth. What are we 
doing to stamp it out, and thus save society, and to 
strengthen the Lord's Kingdom on earth ? Let us 
tell the truth. You and I have seen more than once, 
bright children on their way to buy intoxicants for 
father (?) or for mother (?). What shall we say of 
such parents ? Are they a help or a hindrance to the 
Faith ? All the infidel lectures ever delivered to wise 
fools at fifty cents a head have done less harm to the 
cause of Christ than have liquor-loving fathers and 
mothers ; for experience teaches that their children 
never find, or, at best, find only for a short time, 
the way to the Church and the sacraments. 

In the name of God, in the name of religion, in 



58 Father Walsh 

the name of morality, in the name of humanity, let 
us stand together, dearly beloved brethren, and 
help Holy Mother Church crush out the beast, Intem- 
perance. We must destroy it, or it will eventually 
destroy us. One or the other must fall. Which 
shall it be ? If the millions of Catholics in this land 
loved, as they should, sobriety and Christian educa- 
tion, what a glorious triumph our faith would achieve 
on this continent ! The result would be the complete 
conversion of all America. Then could posterity 
sing, as did the inspired writer of old, the Church 
was unreserved walking in the fear of the Lord, and 
was filled with the consolation of the Holy Ghost. 
Then could they who are to come after us see the 
beauty and truth of this Sunday's Gospel exempli- 
fied in the conquest of a new world to Christ and 
to His Church. 



PURIFICATION. 



My Dear Brethren : 

As spring strews the earth with flowers, so 
the Church scatters over the long, cold, dreary 
winter a profusion of happy festivals, commonly 
termed by spiritual writers ' ' flowers in the life of a 
Christian people.' ' 

Lately we have had a succession of festive days. 
Christmas, the Circumcision, and the Epiphany, 
have brought us, each in its time, a spiritual joy that 
can be far more easily remembered than expressed ; 
in fact, they brought us feelings akin to what St. 
Paul might call " rejoicing from above," were it not 
for the fact that the too rapid succession and flight 
of these feasts have left our souls unprepared for 
celebrations and ceremonies, whose nature is any- 
thing but cheering and joyful. Thus, only forty 
days have passed away since the glad tidings of 



Sermons 59 

salvation broke upon a lost world, and to-morrow we 
are summoned away from the cradle of Christ to 
witness a ceremony that must have been the first 
dark cloud of anguish to gather round the happy 
heart of the ever- virgin Mother. 

According to the Mosaic law, every mother was 
required to bring to the temple of Jerusalem, forty 
days after the birth of a son, a lamb, a year old, 
and a young pigeon. This offering was expected of 
all, whether rich or poor ; but in case of extreme 
poverty, when the cost of a lamb might be con- 
sidered beyond the mother's means, the requirement 
of the law was met by presenting for sacrifice two 
turtle doves. 

Mary, whose divine child-bearing had only made 
her purer and more virginal, was certainly exempted 
from the precept relative to this ceremony, which 
was called purification ; nevertheless, she religiously 
kept to the letter of the law, and on the prescribed 
day appeared at the door of the Temple prepared to 
make to God the sacrifice of her child— an accepted 
sacrifice, that was only consummated three and 
thirty years later on Mount Calvary. 

If the feast of the Purification has, my dear 
brethren, fewer claims to our affections than have 
Christmas, and the Circumcision, and the Epiphany, 
yet is it dear to our hearts, because of the insight it 
affords us into the profoundly humble and obedient 
character of her whom we are wont to call "our 
Mother and our Model. " Faithful imitator of her 
Son, who hid His divinity under the weakness of in- 
fancy, Mary wished to hide her august dignity of 
Mother of God. She submitted to the mandate of 
the law like any ordinary woman, although she was 
exempted from so doing by circumstances of which 
the world knew nothing. And the offering was that 
of the poorest ! None was richer in grace than this 
humble daughter of David, the Spouse of the Holy 



60 Father Walsh 

Ghost, and the Mother of God, made man ; yet, being 
destitute of worldly wealth, she could bring to the 
Temple nothing but two little doves, emblematic of 
her incomparable purity. 

Oh ! my brethren, how different is the spirit 
that actuates and controls us in our daily life ! True, 
we call the humble Virgin of Nazareth our Mother 
and our Model, but where, let me ask you, are our 
virtues to Drove our rights to such a glorious title as 
"Children of Mary" ? 

On a former occasion we asserted that, by some 
mysterious law of Providence, children generally 
bear a moral as well as a physical resemblance to 
their parents, the former having the tastes, the dis- 
positions and the virtues of the latter. But where 
are the virtues we have inherited from our Spiritual 
Mother ? 

Can we claim her humility — that virtue which 
characterizes not sanctity alone, but also true nobil- 
ity of mind and heart ? It must be admitted that 
many of us, if not indeed most of us, are given to 
pride. Had she so chosen, Mary might have ap- 
pealed in a struggle for recognition to the dignity of 
Mother of the Word Incarnate ; but, no— humility 
sealed her lips, and she kept that claim secret in her 
heart. Never has a severer rebuke been given to 
the proud, who are always eager to publish their 
superiority, and exult in honors and distinctions. 

But, my dear brethren, aside from the wounds 
Mary suffered for humility's sake, there was in- 
flicted on her tender heart another one, as deep as 
it was real. On the day of her Purification, the 
mother of a first-born son was held, by the Mosaic 
law, to present or consecrate him to the Lord before 
departing from the Temple. This presentation was 
made for a perpetual remembrance of the mercy of 
God, Who, years before, had commanded an angel 
to kill all the first-born males of the Egyptians, but 



Sermons 61 

to spare those of the Israelites. Generally speak- 
ing, the occasion was one of no little rejoicing among 
Hebrew women. For one only — the lovely Rose of 
Sharon was full of sad forebodings— the presenta- 
tion of her Jesus was the keenest, as well as the 
greatest sacrifice of her life. Hitherto, she scarcely 
knew what sorrow was ; but now, kneeling before 
the altar of sacrifice, she seemed to feel, as by 
anticipation, the fulfillment of aged Simeon's pro- 
phetic words : * ' And thy own soul a sword of grief 
shall pierce/' In fact, this was the first occasion 
that God took to reveal to her the awful cruelty of 
the Jews, and the mock -trial of Pilate, and the crown 
of sharp thorns, and the heavy, ignominious cross. 
On the day of her purification, God opened to her 
vision the first far-oif glimpse of Gethsemane and of 
Calvary, each bedewed with the precious blood of 
her child. 

The sacrifice was a great and crushing one ; 
yet it found in the Virgin Mother what it required— 
a most heroic nature to make and bear it for the 
world's redemption. 

A study of most lives around us, dearly beloved 
brethren, only seems to show how far many of us 
have yet to journey ere we can be said to reach the 
high plane occupied by our "Mother and Model." 
We are a perfunctory kind of Christian. We honor 
God and His Church, but of the penances imposed by 
either, of humility, of mortification, of sacrifice, we 
know little more than the names. Has it occurred 
to you that your presence in this sacred edifice at 
stated times is in answer to God's voice ? And have 
you ever felt that you come here for a purpose 
similar to that which brought Mary to Jerusalem ? 
Yes ; the law of God calls you to His holy Temple, 
and it calls you here to offer to Him a sacrifice, less 
worthy it may be, but not less real than our Blessed 
Mother's. 



62 Father Walsh 

I need not specify what sacrifices to make ; for 
any attempt in that direction would fail to apply in 
many instances. I will simply say that in their lives 
not a few Christians and Catholics are deifying sin 
and worshipping vice. They have become your 
gods, they have become your idols. But what says 
He who created you, and He who redeemed you, and 
He who sanctified you? ''I am the Lord thy God, 
thou shalt have no strange gods before me." The 
God of heaven is a jealous God, suffering none to 
dispute with Him the empire of your hearts. So, 
away with the sin you have been deifying, away 
with the vice you have been worshipping. 

My brethren, make, like your Heavenly Mother, 
a generous sacrifice ere it is too late. Wait not for 
the coming of death to break your sinful habits and 
shatter your false divinities. If you are intellectually 
proud, given to incredulity, and inclined to place rea- 
son above revelation, bow down before that Holy 
Altar and make the sacrifice of your pride ; for God 
demands sacrifice. If your hearts be attached to the 
amassing of riches, and your thoughts absorbed by 
the acquiring of honors, renounce your inordinate 
love for perishable goods, to seek, first, the kingdom 
of heaven, for God demands of you that sacrifice. 
If you have formed habits of dishonesty in your deal- 
ings, seeking to injure your neighbor in his fortune 
or reputation, delay not to restore and repair the in- 
jury ; for God demands that sacrifice. If the demon 
of drink be destroying your manhood, resolve gen- 
erously to curb your appetites. You owe this to 
religion and to society, and God, too, demands the 
sacrifice. Finally, if you be the victim of nameless 
vices, oh ! break the chains of your slavery. True, 
they were forged in hell, but despair not. What 
we, the ministers of Our Lord Jesus Christ have done 
elsewhere, we can and must do here. No sin, no 
habit, no vice, however inveterate, can resist the 



Sermons 63 

power of God's grace, obtained in the sacraments, of 
which we are ofttimes the unworthy dispensers. 



SEPTUAGESIMA SUNDAY. 

" Why stand you here all the day idle ?" 
—Matt, xx, 6. 

Dearly Beloved Brethren : 

These words of our Blessed Saviour have found 
ample application in every age ; but never, perhaps, 
did their true meaning come home with greater force 
than to these our own times. 

By these premises, broad as they are, we do not 
wish to insinuate that ours is an age of what men 
are wont to call idleness — that is, physical or mental 
inactivity. Such a deduction or insinuation were 
contrary to right reason and truth, for everything 
points to our age as one of the busiest, mentally and 
manually, the world has ever seen. In fact, few, if 
any, of the centuries that go to make up history, can 
show better proofs of almost boundless activity than 
our own century, so rich in wondrous discoveries and 
useful inventions. The steam-car and the steam- 
boat, the telegraph, the phonograph, the telephone, 
the electric light, and a thousand and one other 
secrets stolen from nature, less wonderful, perhaps, 
but not less useful in their way, will remind pos- 
terity that, in the nineteenth century, neither the 
human hand nor the human brain was inactive. 

Again, coming nearer home, what do we find ? 
Admirably strong and striking proofs that exonerate 
many of our citizens, and, brethren, I am happy to 
say, many of you, from the odious charge of idle- 
ness ; that is, idleness in the worldly sense of the 
word. Throughout the parish we notice that many 
of you are following honorable pursuits, some being 



64 Father Walsh 

engaged in honest business, and some, in honest toil. 
And we see, too, as a natural consequence, not a 
few possessed of a goodly competency, and many 
blessed with their own cheery firesides and happy 
homes, the sweet fruit of persevering industry ; 
little monuments that will tell the rising generation 
that you were not idle, at least in the worldly sense 
of the word. 

But, dearly beloved brethren, while lauding your 
industry, while acknowledging the success of your 
efforts in the material order, I would ask you this one 
question— a question of the last importance to each 
and every one of you who are gathered this morning 
around God's altar : Have you forgotten the one 
thing necessary ? Have you carelessly thrust aside 
the thought of a house far more durable than the 
one of wood, or brick, or stone, you may enjoy ? 
Have you labored less assiduously for the imperish- 
able riches of heaven than for a competency that 
death will, , ere long, tear from your grasp ? In a 
word, have you failed to accomplish the work of your 
sanctification, the doing of which is a success in- 
finitely greater and sweeter than any known to this 
world ? 

If, brethren, you have made this mistake ; if 
you have toiled and struggled to lay up treasures 
here below ; if you have busied your hand by day 
and your brain by night, as many of you now do, 
with thoughts and plans pertaining, I might say, 
wholly to worldly comforts and worldly success ; if, I 
say, you have made such a mistake, then remember, 
it is to you, as well as to the faithless Jews, that 
Jesus speaks in to-day's Gospel when He says : 
"Why stand you here all the day idle ? " 

Alas ! too many of us do richly deserve the Divine 
reproach, for many of us are, indeed, idlers in the 
truest and broadest sense of the word ; idlers in the 
sight of heaven and before Him who once said : 



Sermons 65 

M Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His justice, 
and all things else will be added to you." To seek 
and to serve God, therefore, are the real works of 
our lives, and we can have no other. This is evi- 
denced by the fact that God's providence placed us 
in the sacred vineyard of His Church, and that, too, 
for an all- wise and well-defined purpose. What that 
purpose is, to-day's Gospel tells us. It is to be 
workers, to be, as the Holy Ghost elsewhere ex- 
presses it, not hearers of the word only, but doers. 

It is quite unnecessary to point out to you, my 
brethren, who the hearers of God's word are, and 
who its doers. The distinction between them is too 
marked to require any special emphasis. " By their 
fruits you shall know them," says Christ. Are you 
loyal, self-denying Christians ? Are you humble and 
practical Catholics, who serve God in spirit and in 
truth ? If so, you are beyond doubt the doers of the 
word, true workers in the Lord's vineyard, observers 
of the commandments, disciples to whom the Just 
Judge will, one day, give a reward exceedingly 
great. 

But it may be, my brethren, that you are un- 
mindful of God's judgments, destitute of living 
faith, regardless of solemn oaths and vows, indiffer- 
ent to the sanctification of the Lord's Day, careless 
of human life, embryonic or otherwise. It may be 
that you are inclined to scoff at religion, to rob your 
neighbor of his reputation or his goods, or, it may 
be, that, Satanlike, you tempt the weak ones to throw 
down the sacred barriers of purity and morality. To 
the man or woman who can be classed in this cate- 
gory of Christians, I have this to say : you are only 
hearers of God's word, and not its doers. Theory 
without practice is always and everywhere the mask 
of the sham Catholic and the hypocrite. Nor should 
such persons think they are building up and strength- 
ening God's Church upon earth, or laboring in 



66 Father Walsh 

Christ's vineyard. Rather are they destroying and 
crushing, as far as in their power lies, the Godlike 
spirit of faith and piety, so long the universal and 
fond inheritance of Christ's chosen children. 

And there is still another, an awful misappre- 
hension, under which many persons are laboring. 
Some people think that religion means merely hear- 
ing Mass on Sundays and days of obligation. Now, 
this is not a gratuitous assertion, lightly or thought- 
lessly made. An experience of some years has 
forced upon me this painful conclusion, and it may 
be easily verified by watching the comparatively 
small number of those who frequent the holy sacra- 
ments. The majority may come to Mass, and suc- 
ceed in reaching their pews, but they never get any 
farther. They are total strangers to the holy table. 
What makes this thought especially painful is, that 
among these strangers to Holy Communion are 
fathers and mothers who are charged with the 
sacred duty of bringing up their children in the fear 
and love of God. 

No one need pretend that there is any love of 
God in the heart of any man or woman, father or 
mother, who will not and does not frequently nourish 
his or her soul at the fountain of living love ; and re- 
member, brethren, we never give or impart to another 
what we do not possess ourselves. And what is the 
result of this spiritual lethargy, this spiritual indif- 
ference, this spiritual idleness ? Why, just what we 
might have expected. The result is, that there are 
in the Catholic Church to-day hundreds of thousands 
who are worthless members, men and women who 
are making her,— the Bride of Christ — an object of 
derision. The world knows them as Catholics be- 
cause they hear Mass on Sundays, but the world 
knows them also as blasphemers of darkest dye, as 
shameless adulterers, as drunkards of a degraded 



Sermons 67 

class, and as men who fall down and adore the false 
god of sensual passion and pleasure. 

My dear brethren, if there ever was a time when 
the Church of God, — the vineyard of the Lord— 
needed faithful laborers, surely that time is to-day. 
Do you want a motive to stimulate you to action and 
to work ? I shall give you this one suggested in the 
Gospel of this Sunday : ' ' And when the evening was 
come, the lord of the vineyard said to his stewards : 
Call the laborers and pay them their hire." Oh, 
would that I could stamp upon your breasts in indeli- 
ble letters those significant words, "When the 
evening was come." How beautiful they are, and 
how encouraging ! The longest life, compared to 
eternity, is but a day, and the God, who gave us the 
day of life, shall also bring the night. We know not 
when the shadows of evening will fall around us, 
but this much we do know : that the day of life will 
soon be over ; that God shall tell His steward to sum- 
mon us to pay us our hire. Standing before the 
tribunal of the Just Judge, every man shall be re- 
warded according to his works, and you and I, my 
brethren, shall receive either a curse or a crown. 



SEXAGESIMA SUNDAY. 

"Saying these things, He cried out, He 
that hath ears to hear, let him hear." — St. 
Luke viii, 8. 

Dearly Beloved Brethren : 

A study of this Sunday ? s Gospel suggests to 
the mind one of the questions which we rarely ask 
ourselves, although reason recognizes its importance 
and demands for it a full hearing and an honest 
answer. Briefly stated, the question is this : What 
effect has the Word of God had upon this world ? In 



68 Father Walsh 

other words, has the preaching of our Blessed Lord 
Jesus been a success or a failure ? Answer that 
question, and you know the fate that awaits the 
world ; you know whether the human race be 
worthy of love or hatred, for our eternal weal or 
eternal woe depends upon the success or failure of 
the Gospel. 

This is, plainly, the teaching of Revelation, and 
more especially the conclusion that may and must be 
drawn from the parable chosen by Holy Church for 
our instruction this morning. Christ clearly in- 
timates that our own souls are the soil in which He 
has sown the seed of the Word of God. He who 
sows, naturally expects to reap ; he naturally looks 
for some blessing upon his efforts, some return for 
his long days and still longer weary nights of weary 
toil. However, the first and most natural thought to 
arise in the mind is this : What of the harvest ? 
Will there be one or will there be none ? If there be 
one, one rich in good works and Christian virtues, 
then 'tis well with us ; our souls will be saved ; for, 
says the Inspired Writer: "Blessed are they who, 
hearing the Word of God, keep it, and bring forth 
fruit in patience."— St. Luke viii, 15. For such, 
there is laid up a crown everlasting in heaven. 

Very different, however, will be the fate of those 
souls who have disappointed the Saviour's hopes and 
labors. He has a right to look to the whole world 
for the fruit and the flower of virtue ; for 'twas for 
this that He spared no effort, shrank from no hard- 
ship, refused no suffering. "Tis for this, I say, that 
He still causes the sun to shine and the rain to fall on 
the just and the unjust, only to insure a generous 
harvest. Imagine, therefore, with what feelings of 
disappointment the Son of God must turn away from 
those souls that are wanting in appreciation for all He 
has done for them ; imagine how He must regret the 
time, the energy, the love, the care and the devotion 



Sermons 69 

bestowed upon a soil that yields nothing but the 
thorns and thistles of vice and religious indifference. 
Need I tell you, dearly beloved brethren, that such 
souls are moral failures in the sight of God— fit fuel 
for eternal fire ? Like the barren fig tree, such 
soil deserves and receives from the Master no other 
recognition than a blighting curse. 

It may be said by a certain class of people that 
this is strong language, and is a saying hard to bear. 
Perhaps it is. Nevertheless, it is true, and no one, 
we think, would be weak-minded enough to question 
its truth. For, let us remember, brethren, that the 
sowing of the Divine Word in this world cost Our 
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ the last drop of His 
blood. Therefore, He who rejects the preaching of 
Christ, or nullifies its effect, either in himself or in 
others, is simply trampling on the blood of the Lamb 
of God, and a greater crime than this no man could 
ever commit. Eventually, reprobation is the only 
natural and adequate penalty for such a sin. 

And yet, strange to say, severe and awful as this 
penalty is, it has never succeeded in banishing from 
the mind, the indifference of man for the Word of Life. 
This is a powerful but an absolute fact — a fact veri- 
fied in nearly every age. We know this from a his- 
tory of our own times, which is, after all, a reflection 
of times gone by. From the very beginning of time, 
God has at divers times spoken to His children. His 
voice was first heard in the Garden of Eden ; later on, 
He spoke to the world through Moses and the Proph- 
ets. Then He came Himself, in the person of His 
only-begotten Son, and with His own Eivine life in- 
structed many unto justice. To-day, he preaches to 
us in and through His Church. We cannot plead 
ignorance of God's Word, nor of His will ; we cannot 
say that our souls have not been seeded with the Word 
of God. Brethren, do we reverence that Word as we 
ought ? Have men profited by what they have heard ? 



70 Father Walsh 

Has the Word of God led us to a better understanding 
of life, to a higher and better appreciation of it and 
its sacred duties ? Has the Gospel reached our hearts, 
or only our ears ? 

We fear not; for, witness our first parents. 
The Lord's voice had hardly died away in Paradise 
when Adam and Eve forgot His presence and shame- 
fully ignored His command. Again, the Lord had 
scarcely given the ten commandments to Moses on 
Mount Sinai when the" Israelites began to rebel 
against them. We know, too, that the Jews went 
so far as to stone the prophets whom God had gra- 
ciously sent them. They refused to listen to them, 
although they knew their refusal meant rejection and 
spiritual death. And when the Messiah came, did 
He fare better ? He went from place to place, 
preaching the kingdom of heaven. He conversed 
with a great number of men in Jerusalem, in Judea, 
in Samaria, in Galilee. His simple eloquence swayed 
the hearts and the minds of the multitudes, who ac- 
knowledged that no one ever spoke as He did. Yet, 
what was the result of all this ? Humanity blushes 
to acknowledge the truth. Jesus Christ was cruci- 
fied in the house of His friends, in sight of a whole 
city, and, after His death, it was found that He had 
convinced and converted one hundred and twenty 
persons. What indifference to the preaching of the 
saving truths of Eternal Wisdom ! 

As it was in the days of our Blessed Lord, so it is 
to-day ; for Christianity has the self -same sad story 
of indifference to tell concerning her efforts. What 
has she accomplished by her preaching ? Put her 
numbers at the highest calculation. Let us say, she 
has 215,000,000 members ; now let us add 150,000,000 
of other Christians. Do these 365,000,000 of sup- 
posed hearers and doers of God's Word seem large 
to you, brethren? They might, indeed, be deemed 
so, did we not know that 700,000,000 people have 



Sermons 71 

never heard of Christ ; or, if they have heard of 
Him, have rejected with contempt His name and His 
teachings. There is something startling in these 
figures. They tell a story of infinite sorrow, and il- 
lustrate most forcibly that momentous saying of the 
Saviour : "Many are called, but few are chosen/ ' 

Now, my brethren, we do not wish to be misunder- 
stood as saying that the Word of God has been a 
failure, or that the Most High has been disappointed. 
There can be no doubt that He clearly foresaw this 
very condition of things. He is prepared for, and 
expects, only partial results ; for partial results are 
characteristic of every undertaking and organization 
with which men have to do. Statistics and arithme - 
tic are sadly at fault when we are dealing with things 
Divine. What we call success, He calls failure, and 
vice versa. From our point of view, the harvest 
reaped from the sowing of the Word of God may 
seem very like a failure, but Christ does not account 
it such, and such it is not. If His preaching had 
saved but one single soul, He might say, and say 
with truth, " Gaudens, gaudebo" — "Rejoicing, I 
shall rejoice ; I am satisfied.' ' 

When news was brought to the patriarch, Jacob, 
that Joseph, his favorite son, was still alive, all his 
woes and all his sufferings were forgotten in a 
moment, and he said : "It is enough ; Joseph, my 
son, liveth." So it is with our Beloved Lord. All 
the unkindness, all the disobedience, all the indiffer- 
ence, and all the unbelief of many are counteracted 
in His heart and mind by the sincere devotion, the 
sanctity, and the sympathy of His few chosen chil- 
dren, in whom His soul delighteth. From the height 
of His cross He sees their fidelity and love ; His 
heart revives, and He says : "It is enough ; the 
fruits of the redemption are great. I am satisfied ; 
rejoicing, I shall rejoice." 

The only question that can possibly cause us un- 



72 Father Walsh 

easiness is whether we have, or have not, earned for 
ourselves a place among Christ's chosen children, by 
unswerving fidelity to His Word and teaching. Are 
we numbered among the few who hear and obey 
Him, or among the many who are inattentive alike to 
His promises and warnings ? Of you, individually, 
we may not speak. Each one of you knows whether 
he is a doer as well as a hearer of the Word ; each 
one of you knows whether he is bringing forth fruit 
in patience. For the vast majority of men, experi- 
ence teaches that they have ears to hear, but hear 
not, and that Christ's teaching and preaching are 
dead letters, empty sounds, to them. Their lives 
prove it. 

The Word of God says : ' ' Woe to them from 
whom scandal cometh." If the preaching of the 
Saviour had taken hold of every man and woman 
professing Christianity, would we have so frequently, 
to-day, the scandals that shock and disgrace society 
and civilization ? Again, Our Lord commands us in 
the Holy Book, to keep sacred our solemn promises. 
If His Word had taken root in the soil of our souls, 
would we have so many sacred promises publicly as 
well as secretly broken ? 

Again, Christ warns us : ' ' Thou shalt not steal. ' ' 
If we heard the Master's voice, would men be dis- 
honest with one another ? Would they cheat and de- 
fraud their fellows ? Again, the inspired volume 
says : "Live soberly." If the seed of the Word of 
God had fallen on grateful ground, would we find in 
our midst so many cheerless homes— so many fire- 
sides made poor by the intemperate habits of sons 
and fathers ? Let us stop here, dearly beloved breth- 
ren, and ask ourselves : Why are the fruits of the 
Gospel so meaner, and its influence on our lives so in- 
significant ? There is just this one reason : we do 
not give the Word of God a fair hearing. "With des- 
olation is the whole earth made desolate," says Holy 



Sermons 73 

Writ, ' ' because there is none that considereth in his 
heart. ' ' Mature men and women will think of every- 
thing save religion and its lessons. We are over- 
solicitous, at times, for what we shall eat and drink, 
as though man lived by bread alone, and not by every 
word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. We 
are forever thinking of how we shall reap a harvest 
of worldly pleasure, or acquire worldly wealth, or 
achieve worldly success. Is it any wonder, then, 
that the Word of God is choked and trampled down 
in our souls ? 

Oh ! brethren, let us be careful, lest we become 
castaways in the sight of the Most High. Let us 
fear, lest these words of St. John be applied to us :. 
"He that is of God, heareth the words of God. 
Therefore, you hear them not, because you are not 
of God. ' ' They who are to be saved must hear and 
heed instruction. They must ponder over the say- 
ings and teachings of Christ in the solitude of their 
hearts. Do not be shaken in your fidelity to God's 
Word, my brethren, by the sins and disorders of 
others. Do not make them a pretext for neglecting 
your own salvation, or taking a low standard of duty. 
Do not say such and such a man is a libertine, a 
thief, a liar, a blasphemer, an adulterer, and make 
out of this an excuse for your own wrongdoing. 
'What is that to thee?" says our Blessed Lord. 
;< Follow thou Me." His love, His life, His teaching, 
must be the rule of thy conduct, and not the sayings 
and the doings of other men. 

My brethren, reflect well, ere it be too late. Some 
day, when we least expect Him, the Lord will seek 
the harvest of His preaching, and the fruit of the 
Word of God sown in our souls. Unless you take 
Christ and His teachings into your homes and into 
your every-day lives, you will have no harvest, no 
fruit to offer your Master on the last day. If, how- 
ever, you receive the Word of God with a good and 



74 Father Walsh 

perfect heart, you shall bring forth fruit, some of 
you, thirty fold ; some, sixty fold, and some, one hun- 
dred-fold—the reward of which will be life eternal. 
"Blessed are they who, hearing the Word of God, 
keep it, and bring forth fruit in patience." 



QUINQUAGESIMA SUNDAY. 

Dearly Beloved Brethren : 

Next Wednesday we begin the six weeks of Lent. 
From time immemorial Holy Mother Church has 
looked upon these forty days as a season of special 
prayer and penance, as a time of grace given by God 
to His loving children in preparation for the glorious 
feast of Easter. 

History vouches for the truth of this assertion, 
and the testimony of saints confirms it as a fact. More- 
over, the discipline of the Church to-day is nothing if 
not a reminder of her government in centuries gone 
by. Hence, the official letter of the Rt. Rev. Bishop, 
suggesting the manner and means of keeping Lent, 
should not be regarded as something unusual, as an 
unheard-of document ; rather should it be considered 
as the voice of an authority ever ancient, ever new ; 
for it certainly recalls the ages of prophets and 
apostles, and reads very like an annual message from 
God to His priesthood, commanding it "to call the 
people together, and sanctify the fast." 

Will you, dearly beloved brethren, accept or re- 
ject this authority ? Will you open or close your ears 
to the voice of God ? We cannot, we dare not, answer 
for you all. We believe that now, as always, the 
children of the household of faith will heed instruc- 
tion, and gladly welcome the restraints of the peni- 
tential season ; but it must be acknowleged (and we 
confess it with regret) that there are men and 
women in the Church of Christ who are sadly in- 



Sermons 75 

different to things spiritual ; men and women who 
rarely, if ever, look up heavenward, and to whom the 
custom of observing Lent seems little less than use- 
less, not to say superstitious. 

Their idea is that so long as we do nothing posi- 
tively sinful, there is no need of curbing our appetites 
or holding a tight rein over our wills ; their policy is 
to get out of life as much pleasure as possible ; their 
motto reads : ' * Let us eat and drink and be merry, 
for to-morrow we die." Who is so ignorant, breth- 
ren, as not to know that such thoughts and theories 
are the legitimate offspring of paganism, and that 
their exponents of to-day are those who have most of 
the vices but few of the virtues of paganism. 

To hold that self-denial is necessary, to call fast- 
ing useless, to claim that abstinence is superstitious, 
are, to say the least, extremely flattering to poor, weak 
human nature. We could overlook the fallacy of 
such sayings were it not for their far-reaching and 
disastrous consequences. In fact, Satan himself 
could not have devised a snare more dangerous for 
the feet of the unwary ; could not have put forth an 
argument better calculated to deceive and corrupt 
the human heart ; for, it has been admitted in every 
age, and by all classes of intelligent people, that 
self-love and self-indulgence are the worst enemies 
of the soul, and as they grow stronger, the love of 
God grows weaker. 

Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, we should 
be on our guard against the deceptions of the world, 
and against the teachings which mean the sapping 
away of our Christian manhood and womanhood, 
and the setting up of standards and practices dia- 
metrically opposed to the precepts and example of 
humanity's wisest teacher and holiest model, our 
Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To be con- 
vinced of this fact, we have only to consult the In- 
spired Book, and contrast a few of its sayings with 



76 Father Walsh 

the cherished ideas of lukewarm Christians and 
indifferent Catholics. The latter say : " Let us enjoy 
life, and cast out all fear of the future." My breth- 
ren, what does Christ say ? He warns us of to-day 
as He once warned the Jews of old. He tells us, as 
He told them, ' ' Unless you do penance, you shall 
all likewise perish." Again, the Divine Master 
says : ' ' He that will come after Me, let him deny 
himself. Let him take up his cross daily, and follow 
Me." 

And He, as the Holy Book tells us, went into the 
desert, and there fasted for forty days and forty 
nights. To fast, therefore, is to follow in the foot- 
steps of Christ, and this thought alone should be en- 
couragement enough for us to enter upon the coming 
penitential season with feelings of holy joy. To 
those unable to comply with the law of fasting, Holy 
Mother Church, ever solicitous for her children's 
welfare, recommends other forms of penance and 
other means eminently fitted to prepare our souls for 
a spiritual resurrection. She exhorts us to meditate, 
from day to day, on the infinite mercy and love of 
Christ for sinners ; she asks us to accompany our 
Blessed Redeemer in spirit, not only to Jerusalem, 
but also to the very summit of Calvary ; she points 
with trembling hand to the Crucified Saviour, and 
tells us in pathetic language the story of the Atone- 
ment, hoping thereby to excite in our hearts sorrow 
for sin, and a pious resolution of putting our con- 
sciences in order, and of making our peace with God. 

To do penance, dearly beloved brethren, for the 
faults and failings of a year, or of two years, or per- 
haps of ten years, is an all-important work, which, 
to do well, we must pray much, and withdraw 
ourselves as far as possible from all vain, worldly 
amusements. Dissipation means death to devotion. 
Those who place themselves under the protection of 
the great St. Joseph, to whose honor the month of 



Sermons 77 

March is dedicated in a special manner ; those who, 
having leisure, resolve to assist at the morning Mass 
and attend faithfully the various public exercises of 
the Church, have already the assurance of a fruitful 
Lent. And do not forget that a good beginning is 
half the battle. Permit no devil to say to you, there 
is time enough, or persuade you to put off your prep- 
aration. Begin on the first day, for Ash Wednes- 
day is one of the most solemn days of the year. 
;< Remember thy last end," says the Inspired Writer, 
1 and thou shalt never sin." Think of death, and 
you shall rise from your moral weaknesses. 

On the morning of Ash Wednesday, God's 
priests the world over will take blessed ashes, with 
which they will make the sign of the cross on the 
foreheads of the old and the young alike, addressing 
to each one in turn these words, once uttered by God 
Himself : ' ' Remember, man, that thou art dust, 
and unto dust thou shalt return." These are sad 
as well as solemn words, but the thought of them 
will, I am sure, cause some hardened sinner to think 
seriously of his duty and destiny. 

Let us all, brethren, show ourselves determined 
to enter upon Lent with holy intentions, and to pre- 
pare our souls for a spiritual resurrection on Easter 
Sunday. If, every penitential season, we draw 
nearer to God, God will draw nearer to us. By and 
by there will be no more need of Lent, of fasting, of 
self-denial, for you will receive as reward of your 
labors and fidelity a place in the kingdom of God, 
there to enjoy a never-ending Easter. 



SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT. 

"And He was transfigured before them." 

Dearly Beloved Brethren : 

The scene pictured in this Sunday's Gospel is 
both instructing and inspiring. It throws a new and 



78 Father Walsh 

blessed light on the life of Christ, and proves that 
some day this mortality of ours will put on immor- 
tality, and that we will then enjoy, in glorified, trans- 
figured bodies, the happy vision of God, as the 
reward exceeding great of our faith, our hope, and 
our love. 

From a human point of view, faith in the Divin- 
ity of Jesus, and in the truth of His doctrine, seemed 
for a time well-nigh impossible. The world did not 
quite comprehend the meaning of His mission ; 
neither did a weak, wicked age fully understand the 
sublimity of His message. Then when Pilate said to 
Him: "Art Thou a king, then?" Jesus answered: 
"Thou sayest that I am a king." But, brethren, 
where was the evidence to prove His claim ? Where 
was His palace ? Where was His court ? Where 
were His subjects ? Again, the Son of Joseph had 
proclaimed Himself the Son of God. But by what 
right did He assume such a title ? Could the Son of 
God, the people reasoned, be born in abject poverty ? 
Could He live for thirty years in the solitude of 
Egypt and the obscurity of Nazareth ? Impossible ; 
and still it had to be acknowledged that He wrought 
wonders without number. The sick, whom He had 
healed ; the blind, the deaf, and the dumb, whom 
He had cured ; the dead, whom He had brought back 
to life, —all pointed unerringly to the possession of a 
strange, supernatural power. Yet this mattered 
little to the masses of the people, and still less to the 
classes. The contemporaries of Christ could not, 
nor would not, accept His Divinity, claiming that if 
His power were not borrowed from Beelzebub, the 
prince of devils, it was, after all, no greater than the 
power possessed by Moses, who with a single stroke 
of his staff caused water to gush forth from the 
barren rock. His power, they contended, was not 
greater than that of Joshua, who commanded the sun 
to stand still. In their blindness and malice, they 



Sermons 79 

would have it that Elias was as powerful as Christ, 
for he, too, had restored the sick to health #nd the 
dead to life. 

Naturally, these facts discredited somewhat, in 
ignorant minds, the claims of the Son of Man. But, 
more astounding still, even the Apostles were weak in 
their faith as to their Master's divinity. For obvious 
reasons, they shared, in a measure, the skepticism of 
the people. True, Jesus had taught them ; but He 
was ever most careful to conceal from them the 
Divine side of His nature. They had eyes to see, 
and they saw not ; they had ears to hear, and they 
heard not ; they did not comprehend how the in- 
finitely happy suffer and the immortal die. And, 
strange to relate, this was what their Master in- 
sisted upon most. He never tired of telling them of 
their own sorrows and of His. He told them that 
He would be delivered to the Gentiles, mocked, and 
scourged, and spat upon ; He described in detail the 
history of His now memorable passion and death. 
Under such circumstances, a weak faith was to be 
expected. 

To remove forever all doubt from the minds of His 
Apostles, and from ours as well, and to make faith 
in Him and in His teachings a natural answer to the 
cravings, the desires, and the aspirations of the human 
heart, Christ determined to prove His divinity in no 
uncertain way. Future ages might, indeed, wonder 
at the nature of the argument, but they could never 
consistently reject His claims nor reject His preach- 
ing. What He did to bring conviction to the world 
is clearly and concisely told in the words of our text : 
" He was transfigured before them." The meaning 
of which is, the glory of the Divine Nature, break- 
ing through the veil of the Saviour's human body, 
covering, enveloping, and surrounding Him with a 
happy effulgence, just as the waters of a mighty 
river overflowing its banks suddenly submerges 
nearby fields and valleys. 



80 Father Walsh 

For the first time since His coming into the 
world, the human side of Christ's nature was hidden 
from view. It was overshadowed, covered, ab- 
sorbed, as it were, in an ocean of beauty and light. 
"And His face did shine as the sun, and His gar- 
ments became white as snow." Ah, brethren, here 
was the undeniable proof of our Blessed Lord's 
Divinity, here was ample evidence to confirm all men 
in love and hope as well as in faith. We believe, 
with many sacred writers, that it may be taken as 
the fulfillment of a previous promise, once made to 
the Apostles by Christ Himself, saying : * ' Some 
among you will not die till they have seen the glory 
of the Son of Man." Thabor bears witness to the 
truth of Christ's promise, and His words have ever 
brought hope and strength to human weakness and 
moral indecision. 

No doubt Peter and James and John, who had 
heard the Saviour's prophetic announcement, never 
realized for an instant its true and deep significance. 
Perhaps, as they wended their way up the mountain- 
side, their hearts were heavy and their hopes uncer- 
tain. It was very different now ; they had seen their 
Transfigured Lord ; hope revived in their hearts ; all 
mystery is swept away in the light of the glorious 
scene on Thabor, and all fear is allayed and all 
weakness conquered. The three favored Apostles 
are indeed happy. In fact, so changed, so en- 
couraged, so strengthened were they by what they 
had seen and heard, that they forthwith forgot the 
trials and hardships of their apostleship, and were 
losing sight of the bitterness of persecution and 
death in the contemplation of the glory that is re- 
vealed to them on that memorable occasion. 

This is the inference to be drawn from the words 
of the ardent Peter : ' ' Lord, it is good for us to 
be here. If thou wilt, let us make three taber- 
nacles: one for Thee, one for Moses, and one for 



Sermons 81 

Elias." It is clear, brethren, that Peter knew not 
what He said. The Transfiguration was not an end, 
but a means to an end. It was a help and an en- 
couragement vouchsafed to men, to make them per- 
fect in hope. There is something great in store for 
the Apostles and for us, something holier, something 
happier, than a home on Thabor, and that is Heaven, 
the eternal habitation of God's glory. Therefore, 
the spell had to be broken ; the Transfiguration had 
fulfilled its purpose ; it had convinced the world that 
human happiness is at best but short-lived, and, sec- 
ondly, it gave the faithful of future ages to under- 
stand that no price is too great, no cross too heavy, 
no humiliation too deep, for the privilege of seeing 
and enjoying the brightness and the beauty of infin- 
ite and eternal glory. 

Write these words, brethren, on the tablets of 
memory, and, believe me, they will strengthen you 
in time of temptation ; they will console you in the 
day of affliction ; they will brighten and bless the 
rugged way that leads through darkness to light. If 
the Transfiguration had served no other purpose than 
to inculcate faith into the mind, and hope into the 
heart of man, it had done a blessed service to the 
world and to humanity ; but it goes further, breth- 
ren, and shows us the rewards of love. Does it not 
strike us as being singular and significant that 
Christ chose but three of His Apostles to accompany 
Him to the Holy Mount ? To what shall we at- 
tribute the selection of Peter, James and John, to 
the exclusion of the others ? To the fact that the 
Master wished to reward fidelity and love as well as 
faith and hope ; for, if St. Peter is known as the 
Apostle of Faith, and St. James as the Disciple of 
Hope, St. John may be called the Exponent of Love. 

My brethren, we may have the faith of the Prince 
of the Apostles, we may have burning within us 
the lamp of hope ; but have we, in our hearts, the 



82 Father Walsh 

love of God, which is Christ Jesus Our Lord? We 
have reason to believe that the Lord and the Lord's 
law are often lost sight of amid the petty cares and 
ambitions of life ; we have reason to believe that 
even God's own children are not infrequently forget- 
ful of their true interests, and totally indifferent to 
the happiness of Heaven. If we thus sacrifice our 
souls and starve ourselves spiritually, how can we be 
said to have the love of God abiding within us ? Be 
that as it may, notwithstanding our indifference and 
our ingratitude, Christ will, nevertheless, continue to 
care for and comfort us. In our fears, in our tears, 
in our sufferings, and in our sorrows, there will 
always be one to cling to us when all others have 
become helpless or passed out of our lives. He who 
loves us from the beginning will love us to the end. 
When the Apostles, affrighted and overawed by 
their experience on Thabor, recovered themselves 
and lifted up their eyes, they saw, says the Gospel, 
no man, but only Jesus. Yes, Christ was near at 
hand, as He always is. Shall not we, brethren, be 
henceforth true and faithful to Him ? God grant it ; 
for let us remember, if we would enter into life and 
share one day in the glory of the heavenly Thabor, 
we must not only believe in God, and hope in His 
promise, but also love Him with our whole soul, with 
our whole mind, with our whole heart, and with all 
our strength. 

LENTEN SERMON. 

ALSO SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT. 

" Hear ye Him/ ' 

Learned and thoughtful men have been forced to 
acknowledge, brethren, that this world of ours needs 
nothing quite so much as a master mind, fearless 
enough to rebuke it for its follies, brave enough to 



Sermons 83 

condemn it for its crimes, and strong enough to lift it 
up out of the mire of its iniquities. In a word, the 
world needs to-day, according to its own best thought, 
a true teacher — one who is able to lead it back to the 
light and the love of God. 

To say that the moral regeneration of society is 
beyond human effort, is to utter a commonplace. 
For we all know that men have tried and tried re- 
peatedly, but always with the same results ; viz. , 
failure. I am here to-night to give a reason for these 
failures, and to tell you that the fault lies not with 
God, but with man. If society is spiritually weak 
(and it is) , it is because you, and I, and the millions 
who bear the name of Christian, have sat too often 
and too long at the feet of false gods, and turned 
away from Jesus Christ, whose Word is Life Eternal. 
If the world suffers from a moral relapse (and it 
does) , it is because we have opened our ears to the 
whisperings of Satan, and closed them to the thun- 
ders of Sinai. If indifference in matters of religion 
has supplanted piety (and it has), it is because the 
human heart seeks its own desires, and carelessly 
counts as naught the warnings of Him of whom it is 
written : "Hear ye Him." 

What fatal folly to prefer darkness to light ! 
What incredible weakness to listen to the promptings 
of the tempter, and to refuse a hearing to the teach- 
ings of Truth itself ! What strange madness to pre- 
tend that we have realized our dreams of peace and 
happiness in the promise of the present, and forth- 
with to dismiss from our minds, with childish thought- 
lessness, the consideration of future hopes and fears. 
These are important truths that constitute so large 
a part of Christ's message to the world ! 

Evidently, brethren, most of us have yet to be 
persuaded that heaven and earth shall pass away, but 
the Word of the Son of Man shall never pass away. 
You and I have yet to learn that man liveth not by 



84 Father Walsh 

bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out 
of the mouth of God. We have yet to understand 
that to turn a deaf ear to the gospel of the Living 
God, means to merit, both in this life and in the life 
to come, the just judgments of the Almighty. See if 
ecclesiastical history does not bear out this assertion. 

As we follow Christ through His public career, 
there is just one scene that seems to point to the 
ultimate success of His mission ; and that is, the vast 
crowds gathered around Him, all anxious to hear 
Him speak of the doctrine of His kingdom. For a 
time, at least, that command, "Hear ye Him," is 
most faithfully fulfilled. In fact, so deep is the 
interest of the multitude in the preaching of Jesus, 
that scores of men and women are known to leave 
the comforts of home, in order to live within sound 
of the Great Teacher's voice, and to catch the words 
of life as they fall from His sacred lips. This in- 
terest in the sermons of the Saviour may be rightly 
interpreted as a sign of spiritual conquest. Every- 
where curiosity gives place to admiration and devo- 
tion, and, ere long, the people are heard whispering 
one to another : ' ' No man ever spoke as this man 
speaks. Blessed be the Son of David. Let us make 
Him our King." 

Here was a mistake, more or less natural, but still 
fatal in its consequences. The masses of the people 
had misunderstood the meaning of the Messiah's 
mission. " Christ's kingdom was not of this world." 
He had come among them with no greedy aspirations, 
with no personal ambitions. He had come solely to 
preach and to teach. His desire was to purify and 
better, spiritually, the children of Israel. His inten- 
tion was to unmask hypocrisy and to denounce cor- 
ruption wherever found, and he was honest enough 
to tell the nation so. To the Scribes and Pharisees 
he said, with a ring of reproach in His own voice : 
"Ye brood of vipers! Ye hypocrites! The axe is 



Sermons 85 

even now laid at the root of the tree of your 
abomination.' ' 

This was more than pride could bear. The words 
of the Son of Man had, indeed, cut deeper and more 
dangerously than a two-edged sword. The result 
was a revulsion of feeling, which was taken advan- 
tage of by certain demagogues in high places, and by 
them fanned into a fierce demand for the blood of 
the Innocent One. ' ' Let His Blood, ' ' cried the surg- 
ing crowd, ' ' be upon us and upon our children. ' ' 
Their wish was gratified, but their crime — their 
failure to accept the preaching of the Great High 
Priest — cost them not only the destruction of their 
beautiful Temple at Jerusalem, but also the loss of 
millions of lives and their very existence as a nation. 

To use the language of Holy Writ : ' ' The hearts 
of His own children were hardened against the Sav- 
iour. ' ' Hard hearts always resist instruction. They 
are like unto strong ground— an ungrateful soil, in 
which the Word of God can never grow to full fruit- 
age. The Jews of old received the grace of God in 
vain, for they shut their eyes to the light of faith. 
' Faith,' ' says the Apostle, 'cometh by hearing." 

Are we not well within the limits of truth when 
we claim that thousands and millions of Catholics 
are just as criminal in the sight of the Lord as were 
the ancient Israelites ? Are we not, most of us, like 
them, ready enough to hear, but then quick to stifle 
the inspirations of Christ and of conscience ? Me- 
thinks that some of you may object to this compari- 
son as odious. Had we lived, you may say, in the 
days of the Redeemer's public career, we would have 
most willingly listened to the Gospel, and most cheer- 
fully cherished it, as God's will and Word. We 
would not have hardened our hearts. 

Our reply to this pretense — for a mere pretense 
it certainly is— is this : men and women rarely expe- 
rience overmuch difficulty in finding a pretext to 



86 Father Walsh 

palliate their spiritual carelessness ; if they do find it 
difficult to justify their almost brutal indifference to 
religious thought, they get over the difficulty by the 
very simple process of manufacturing a very weak 
excuse. They will say : If we had lived in the days 
of Christ, or had we been privileged to see the sal- 
vation of Israel, it would have been very different. 
This was precisely the principle adopted by the Jews 
of old, to explain away their guilt for rejecting the 
teachings of the Divine Master. They said : Had 
we been in the days of our fathers, we would not 
have been partakers in the blood of the Prophets. 
Oh ! brethren, how injurious Satan is ! He is con- 
stantly busy seeking to deceive and to destroy the 
unwary. But our Blessed Lord undeceives people. 
His truth shall prevail ; and so He proves to His 
enemies the insincerity of their protestations, telling 
them that had they lived in the days of their fathers, 
they would have imitated their conduct. For, being 
at that very moment placed in similar circum- 
stances, they actually pursue the methods of their 
forefathers. Like them, they reject the warnings 
and the instructions of heaven, and later on they 
would steep their hands in the Blood of the Great 
Prophet, whom the Father had sent them, with 
power to preach and teach. 

Hence, it is oftentimes worse than useless, dearly 
beloved brethren, to attempt to justify the indiffer- 
ence to God's Word, and the consequent failure of 
our souls to bring forth fruit a hundred- fold. Why 
not be honest, and confess the fault is our own ? 
Why not admit that, after listening to the preaching 
of the Gospel, we go forth from the church, and, like 
little children, permit the cares, the riches and the 
pleasures of this life to crush and destroy within us 
the seed of the Word of God ? Few of us are serious 
enough to measure the misery of such a fatal mis- 
take. True, we may be able to put lightly aside the 



Sermons 87 

claims of the Gospel ; nevertheless, brethren, the 
thought that He had preached to some men and 
women in vain, caused the Son of God one of the 
bitterest pangs of His passion. One night, in the 
Garden of Gethsemane, as He lay prostrate on the 
ground, the Man of Sorrows cried out in an agony of 
grief: "My soul is sorrowful unto death.' ' While 
men slept He looked down the ages, and, in perspec- 
tive, saw how quickly and how effectually pride, and 
worldly interests, would weed out of the human mind 
the consideration of things eternal. He saw that the 
end of all His labors, and of all His struggles, and of 
all His prayers ; that the aim of His life and the 
object of His death, would be attained only in a part. 
No wonder He exclaimed : ' ' My soul is sorrowful 
unto death.' ' And so should our souls be sorrowful, 
dearly beloved in Christ, when we remember the un- 
productiveness of the soil of our hearts. 

We may not know, now, what it means to nullify 
the life and labors of Jesus Christ by ignoring the 
command, ' ' Hear ye Him ' ' ; but when we look back 
from our death-beds, and see by the glimmer of the 
little blessed candle in our hands the spiritual ruin of 
twenty or forty or sixty years, remorse is sure to 
consume us. Take, for instance, the man of vast 
wealth. He has had no time to "hear Him" ; no 
time to think of his soul and of eternity. His God 
was the mighty dollar, his own purpose and pleasure 
in life, to make money. Neither was he, perhaps, 
over-solicitous as to the means employed in the ac- 
cumulation of his wealth. Still, he quiets his con- 
science. Of course the Lord has said, "Thou shalt 
not steal," but he imagines it just as easy to deceive 
the Lord as he found it to bribe and rob his fellow- 
man. Death, God's messenger, will undeceive that 
man, for if his fortune be not the fruit of honest ef- 
fort, every dollar he owns will become, at the hour of 
his death, a tongue of fire from hell, to torture and 



88 Father Walsh 

to sting his soul. It is written in the Book of Life : 
5 'Thieves shall not enter the kingdom of Heaven.' ' 
Some rich men have ears to hear, but they hear not ; 
and so it is that it is easier for the camel to pass 
through the eye of the needle, than for some rich 
men to enter the kingdom of Heaven. 

Again, take the thousands of convicted criminals 
of both sexes who are now behind prison bars await- 
ing the hangman's rope, or the electric current ; 
they feel, before dying, that the one great mistake of 
their lives has been the boastful regard of the com- 
mand, "Hear ye Him." Had the seed of the Word 
of God taken root in their souls as it should, had they 
broken away from evil company and evil habits, as 
the Lord commands, they would not now be outcasts 
to society, a disgrace to friends, and a consuming sor- 
row, perhaps, to an aged father and mother. Lucky 
will they be if they escape the vengeance of God, for 
it is written : ' ' Murderers shall have no part with 
Christ in the Kingdom.' ' 

Again, take the vast army of drunkards, whose 
lives are a curse to society, and a dishonor to re- 
ligion. Jesus Christ preaches to them and says : 
" Live soberly." But another voice appeals to them 
more strongly ; it is the voice of the tempter, say- 
ing : ' ' Eat and drink, and be merry ; for to-morrow 
you die." This suggestion is followed. What mat- 
ters it to the drunkard that his hard-earned wages 
are wasted, that his neighbors hold him up to scorn, 
that his half-starved children inherit from him noth- 
ing but the remembrance of a cruel and sinful folly. 
He is having a good time ; he is satisfied. Yes, 
self-satisfied to-day, self-convicted to-morrow ; for 
when the ignominious career of the drunkard comes 
to an end, he turns his face to the future life with 
fear and trembling. He has defied the Lord and ig- 
nored those words: "Drunkards shall not possess 
the kingdom of Heaven." Wretched men ! 



Sermons 89 

But there is yet another class of persons who 
must needs be reminded that they are laying up for 
themselves future fears and tears ; they are the vile 
votaries of the social vices — men and women who 
outrage daily the laws of decency and the laws of 
God. Little use was it for Christ to say to such 
people : ' ' Know ye not that your bodies are the 
temple of the Holy Ghost ? " You pretend to hear 
these words, but how comes it that, forgetting your 
noble nature, and still nobler destiny, you desecrate 
and defile these temples of the Holy Ghost, making 
them the abodes and the agents of sin and Satan. 

It is written in the Gospel : "If your foot scan- 
dalize you, cut it off and cast it away." Have you 
always heard and acted on these words ? Heard 
them ? Yes. Acted upon them ? No ; for I dare 
say there are scores of persons who have frequently 
and deliberately walked into the occasions of sin. 
Shame on such Catholics ! They try to hide their 
abominations under the cover of night or of secrecy, 
but there is One who knows and sees all things ; One 
who has said only ' ' the pure of heart shall see God, ' ' 
and to Him they must be responsible for their fearful 
excesses and dirty habits. 

In the meantime, we have to meet and answer the 
charge that Catholics ofttimes indirectly encourage 
vice. That there is some truth in this charge cannot 
be well denied. See the tendency of many of our 
people, who attend indiscriminately public entertain- 
ments at the public theatres. Every city and every 
town in the land is visited from time to time by 
theatrical performances, more or less immoral. 
The more immoral they are, the greater will be the 
crush for seats ; yes, and greater, too, will be the 
scandal. We are sometimes amazed at the liberal 
patronage accorded such theatricals. People who 
know better and boast of better taste, are seen to 
sit and witness, with evident relish, the portrayal of 



90 Father Walsh 

illicit love and brazen harlotry. Shame on such 
Catholics ! It may be, brethren, a pleasant pastime 
for some people to look at immorality on the stage, 
but I tell you it will not be so pleasant to hear 
ringing in your d>ing ears those awful words of 
Jesus Christ : ' ' Woe to them from whom scandal 
cometh ! " No doubt Catholics who attend "racy" 
plays and performances at the theatre, kneel down 
and pray thus : ' ' Our Father, who art in heaven. 
. . . Lead us not into temptation." What a 
mockery to ask God to lead us not into temptation, 
and then rush into danger with our eyes wide open, 
as if our Blessed Master had not said: "He who 
loves the danger shall perish in it." Shame on such 
Catholics ! It were better for them had a millstone 
been tied around their necks and that they were cast 
into the depths of the sea. 

To conclude this instruction, let me beg of you, 
brethren, to love the word of life. Do not allow 
yourselves to grow indifferent to Christ's warnings. 
Be not only hearers of the Word, but doers also. 
When you come to church on Sunday, listen to the 
preaching of the Gospel with attention and with 
profit ; for every sermon, be it ever so short, be it 
ever so simple, contains some thought or some les- 
son which, if put into practice, is sure to lift us up 
to a higher and nobler standard of living. 

Finally, brethren, make time occasionally, and 
especially during Lent, to meditate on the teachings 
of truth itself. If you do this, your souls will soon 
become well-nigh perfect, for you will be growing 
rich in grace and in virtue, and, what is more, you 
will be yielding a perfect obedience to the command : 
"Hear ye Him." 



Sermons 91 

FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT. 

Dearly Beloved Brethren : 

The Holy Scriptures are sometimes called a choice 
collection of inspired paintings— word-paintings, if 
you will. 

Even the world, with all its prejudices, concedes 
this much to religion, for the world does, and must 
acknowledge that human genius is indebted to the 
Sacred Volume for its sublimest flights, and its 
grandest, happiest inspirations. This is a fact that 
may be substantiated in every department of human 
achievement, and based on the weighty words of the 
best masters of science, literature, and art. Raphael, 
whose name is the proud boast and inheritance of the 
art school, and whose masterpieces adorn the walls 
of many stately cathedrals of Europe, once said, that 
his greatest works were only rough sketches, faint 
copies of the admirable models to be found in every 
page of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. And, true 
enough, if we compare the copy with the model, and 
contrast their relative merits, we cannot but arrive 
at the conclusion that Raphael's words were a grate- 
ful and tender tribute to truth as well as to humility. 

For the most part, the painted canvas and sculp- 
tured marble charm but one sense ; they speak and 
appeal principally to the critical eye ; but the word- 
paintings of the Gospel, ah ! they sink into the very 
soul. From whatever point we view them, they 
have a most important bearing on our eternal inter- 
ests, and for that reason must needs deeply concern 
the human heart and mind. They make us feel the 
majesty of God, the power of the Creator, the mercy, 
and the charity, and the love of Jesus Christ for us — 
the masses of the people. Mark, my brethren, how 
clearly, yet perfectly, St. John pictures, in to-day's 
Gospel, that deep and abiding love. 

A great multitude, numbering upwards of five 



92 Father Walsh 

thousand persons, had been following our Blessed 
Lord from place to place, because they saw the mir- 
acles He did on those who were infirm. There was 
comfort and healing in His words. As was natural, 
the gratitude of the people sought some outlet, which 
it found in the outpouring of the masses. Christ 
was touched by the popular demonstration, but the 
Scribes and Pharisees, seeing in it a great danger to 
the country, felt bound to take every precaution to 
check the enthusiasm of the crowd. Their efforts 
were, however, useless and unnecessary ; for Christ 
Himself finally decided to withdraw temporarily from 
the city, and retire to some secluded place for prayer 
and rest. Accordingly, He hurried into the neigh- 
boring country, and seeing a beautiful knoll, He pro- 
posed to His disciples that they go there and sit down. 
His rest did not last long ; for, lifting up His eyes, He 
saw the multitude surging towards Him. What was 
He to do? In their eagerness to hear His heavenly 
doctrine and witness His wonderful works, many had 
followed Him, without a thought and without a care 
about their daily sustenance. Could He send them 
away fasting to their houses ? Such an action on His 
part might seem like an act of indifference toward 
the common people, whose love and admiration He 
wished to win and reward. As night was coming 
on, Christ felt that only a stupendous miracle could 
reward such devotion, and at the same time fully 
satisfy the burning love of His own Sacred Heart. 
So He said to His disciples : ' ' Make the men sit 
down. ' ' All eyes were now riveted on Jesus as He 
stood in prayer, and He looked what He claimed to 
be— the Eternal Son of the Eternal Father. 

The prayer ended. He raised His hand over five 
small barley loaves and two small fishes. My breth- 
ren, you know the rest ; more than five thousand 
prisms partook of a miraculous food, and although 
St. John makes no mention of the fact, it is safe 



Sermons 93 

to say that the repast tasted sweeter to that tired 
and hungry multitude than the most sumptuous 
dishes. 

Did any painting, my brethren, every appeal more 
strongly to the human heart and mind than this im- 
mortal " feeding of the five thousand"? Does it 
not recall to your minds the power and providence of 
God ? Does it not convince you of His kindly care 
of those who trust in Him ? In a word, does it not 
remind you of the love and charity of Our Lord 
Jesus Christ for your own selves ? 

True, the time was when you and I, unregener- 
ated as yet by Baptism, were the enemies of Christ ; 
but since we were born again of water and the 
Holy Ghost, there has existed between the Saviour 
and ourselves, a love as true as it is tender, and as 
deep as it is lasting. Both reason and revelation 
proclaim this fact to the world, and there are none 
who ought to recognize it so quickly as we— the 
masses— the poor— the toiling classes of the Catholic 
Church. The very thought of Christ's love for us 
baffles the mind ; its length, and height, and breadth, 
we can measure only by His words and works, by the 
honors He has conferred upon us, and by the many 
sacred memorials He has bequeathed to us. 

Notwithstanding His high birth, Jesus Christ 
always seemed on terms of intimacy with the lowly, 
and at home with those of our condition. When He 
spoke to the proud Pharisee, and the learned Scribe, 
there was sternness on His brow, a keenness in His 
glance, and a ring of reproof in His voice, that made 
Him, for the time being, quite a different person 
from the gentle Jesus who graciously dined with 
Zaccheus, the publican, and tenderly said to Mary 
Magdalene: "Daughter, thy sins are forgiven thee." 
Let us go a step further, and note the honors 
His love has heaped on us, in the person of care- 
worn, ordinary people. He had no greater gift to 



94 Father Walsh 

offer mankind than the perpetuation of His teach- 
ings. And to whom did He entrust that sacred 
office ? Was it to any king, to any statesman, to any 
man of genius, to any learned philosopher, that 
Jesus said : " Go, teach all nations " ? No ; for when 
those words fell from His Divine lips, He had before 
Him twelve poor, unlettered men, chosen from among 
the people, men whose lot in life was very like 
our own— to live and suffer, and struggle, and die, 
and leave no record of themselves save the record 
of their godly deeds, that are written and remem- 
bered in Heaven. 

And when the Church, thus built upon the Apos- 
tles, had been established throughout the world, and 
had grown strong enough to defy tyranny, whose 
interest did she espouse ? Was it not those of the 
poor and weak ? Remember, it was she who con- 
verted the amphitheatres of Rome into churches, 
and then opened their doors wide to the masses of 
the people. Lovingly she gathered the lowly slave 
around her altars, and whispered in his ears words of 
consolation and encouragement. The same spirit of 
love that characterized the Primitive Church exists, 
my brethren, in all its fulness, at the present day ; 
for if we build grand cathedrals, they are for the 
people, they are for you, that you may worship in 
them. Costly pews, sweet-sounding music, are 
things of little importance, if we are not a throng of 
the simple people, filling the place with the incense 
of our prayers, and finding beneath the shadows of 
our altars a safe and sacred retreat for our weary, 
aching, heavy hearts. 

The hearts of the poor are often heavy, for they 
have so much to suffer, and so little to console them 
— where, if it be not in Christ's Church, will they find 
sunshine and hope ? 

Happily, history has yet to point out but one single 
instance where ample opportunity of seeking and 



Sermons 95 

obtaining an abundance of both was denied by Holy 
Church to any of her children. The sacraments are 
the acknowledged sources of heavenly hope and sun- 
shine, and where is the person, be he ever so poor, 
who has experienced even the slightest difficulty in 
approaching the sacraments ? Over yonder is the 
baptismal font. Does the Church ask or care about 
the worldly rank of the child that comes to be bap- 
tized ? No ; never. The same words, the same water, 
the same ceremonies, are used for all alike ; near the 
baptismal font are the confessionals. My brethren, 
most of you know what they are, and I am happy to 
believe that most of you have a practical knowledge 
of them. However, I will say for the benefit of care- 
less and unpractical Catholics, that they are places 
in which sins are forgiven, in Christ's name, to the 
humble and contrite penitent. Did anyone, even the 
poorest penitent, go to the confessional and have the 
anointed minister of God suspend absolution till he 
could certify to the possession of worldly dignity and 
wealth ? Ah ! no ; the priest dare not do such a 
thing, and if he did, the Church would unfrock him, 
and smite him with her heaviest anathemas. 

But let us go up nearer the altar. What do we 
notice ? The Holy Table, and the tabernacle, in 
which is the miraculous bread. When we see a 
goodly number of honest and sincere people kneeling 
there to receive the bread of the strong, we cannot 
but recall the touching scene so vividly portrayed in 
this day's Gospel. The communicants came here 
fasting, and out of love for Christ. Did it make any 
difference whether they were richly dressed or 
poorly clad ? Did anyone ask them whether they 
came from a marble mansion or a humble tenement ? 

You are well aware, my brethren, that our Blessed 
Lord made no such issue with the crowd gathered 
around Him ; and you know, too, that there is no 
change or variation in Christ. He is the same, yes- 



96 Father Walsh 

terday, to-day, and to-morrow. He longs to feed the 
masses of the people to-day, as He fed them near 
Jerusalem some two thousand years ago. For this 
purpose, He still multiplies the miraculous bread by 
the ministry of His priesthood, and invites the people 
to come and sit down at His table. But, human 
indifference, there are those who despise His loving 
invitation, while many others, who, calling them- 
selves His friends, beg to be held excused ; some, 
because of business cares, and some, because of 
domestic cares. 

Thanks to the patience of our Saviour, and to the 
pleadings of His Sacred Heart, our procrastination 
has not as yet been answered as it deserves to be 
— by rejection and reprobation. God waits and 
watches for us, night and day. His vigil, a long, 
weary one— in the tabernacle— is that of Jesus in the 
Blessed Sacrament. But, before casting us off for- 
ever, perhaps Christ will try moral coercion. During 
the Easter- time He says to His priests what He said 
to the disciples of old, though in a different sense : 
44 Make the people sit down." This is no longer a 
gentle request, it is a stern command. Let us re- 
member this, and let everyone who claims the 
Church as his mother, prepare to obey it. 

Let no one shirk his responsibility in this re- 
spect ; for to do so would be to incur excommunication. 
Such a misfortune was never meant to befall per- 
sons like hard-pressed, struggling, suffering, toiling 
Catholics. Your lot in this life is indeed a hard and 
thankless one. You buy your bread in the sweat 
of your brow, and I feel sure, too, that a number 
of you moisten it with the tears of your affliction. 
During this Paschal time, let us lift up our hearts to 
God ; let our conversation be in heaven, where at no 
distant day, perhaps, all will be peace, and joy, and 
happiness. He has so ordained it. Christ has so 
promised it to them that love Him. ' Come to Me," 



Sermons 97 

says our Blessed Saviour, ' ' all ye who labor and are 
heavy laden, and I will refresh you/' Yes, draw 
near to Him now, and to the feelings of satisfaction 
that always come from a duty well done, He will add 
the blessed hope of delights which the human eye 
hath not seen, which the human ear hath never 
heard, nor any human heart been able to conceive. 



FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT. 

JESUS' LOVE FOR THE PEOPLE. 

' ' And Jesus took the loaves ; and when 
He had given thanks, He distributed to them 
that were set down."— St. John vi, 11. 

The life of our Blessed Lord, my dear brethren, 
has been summarized " the mission of love." 

Although brief, these three and thirty eventful 
years are truly remarkable and remarkably true ; for, 
indeed, the Holy Scriptures, and the four gospel nar- 
ratives especially, contain the record of many words 
and works— parables and miracles which prove be- 
yond a doubt that Christ loved us with an eternal 
love, and that the human race is ever near to the 
Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ. 

Did time permit, we might recall the various oc- 
casions upon which He was pleased to manifest His 
intense love for His people ; but this morning we 
must needs confine ourselves to one instance only, 
the one mentioned in the Gospel of the Sunday, 
where it is said that " Jesus took the loaves, and 
when He had given thanks, He distributed to them 
that were set down." 

The circumstances that prompted our Divine Sav- 
iour to give this signal proof of His compassionate 
love are intimately connected with the miracle itself, 
and should be touched upon for the full and clear 
intelligence of our text. 



98 Father Walsh 

The Son of God began His public career at a 
time when the Jewish nation was suffering untold hu- 
miliations at the hands of the Romans, their haughty 
conquerors. It was a bitter thing for them to ac- 
knowledge that the royal sceptre had passed forever 
from the house of David. The very thought was 
crushing hopes and ambitions from the individual as 
well as from the national heart, when Christ came 
out from the quiet of His humble home at Nazareth, 
like the sun from behind the Eastern hills. His 
presence imparted new hope and life to the Jews, 
for everyone saw a nameless charm in His person, 
they felt a peculiar magnetism in His words, and in 
His works they acknowledged a power more than 
human. Everything pointed to Him as the possible 
deliverer of Israel. But the expectations of the Jews 
were not to be realized. Christ's kingdom was not 
of this world. Herod, moreover, considering His 
presence among the people a constant menace to his 
position, sought His life. 

Christ, knowing this, quietly withdrew from that 
ungrateful city, which had been the recipient of His 
blessings and the witness of His miracles. He went 
about, says the Inspired Writer, doing good ; deliver- 
ing the possessed, healing the sick, and restoring the 
dead to life. Was it, therefore, to be wondered at, 
my brethren, if the people, mindful of these bless- 
ings and favors, disregarded. . . . of the civil au- 
thorities, and followed Him into the desert place to 
which He retired ? 

Be it said to the honor of mankind, that if Jesus 
loved the people, the people loved Him, at least on 
this occasion. They crowded eagerly around Him in 
His retirement, anxious to catch the words of sal- 
vation as they fell from His sacred lips ; anxious to 
hear once more the sweet and tender accents of His 
voice. So great, indeed, was their pious enthusiasm, 
that they utterly forgot to guard themselves against 



Sermons 99 

the cravings of hunger and of thirst. They were not 
solicitous about what they would eat or what they 
would drink ; they left their homes with other 
thoughts, never for one moment dreaming that their 
unconcern about themselves would lead Christ to per- 
form one of those stupendous miracles that will stand 
for all time to come as a memorable instance of the 
Sacred Heart's compassionate love. 

"And Jesus took the loaves," says St. John, "and 
when He had given thanks, He distributed to them 
that were set down"— in number about five thou- 
sand. "How great was the power," exclaims St. 
Bernard, in commenting on this passage, " but how 
much greater was the love displayed." We can add 
only one thing, my brethren, to the simple words of 
the Holy Evangelist, and that one thing is this : the 
love manifested by Christ on all occasions, but more 
especially in this instance. He wished to remain 
unto the end of time. It was, in fact, for this rea- 
son, and for this reason alone, that He established 
His Church, to which He left as by testament, a 
wealth of love in trust for His people of all times 
and of all places. 

And you know, my brethren, how well the Church 
has fulfilled her trust, how well she has carried on 
the mission begun by Christ. She has been the true 
friend of the people ; she has always taken a kind 
and loving interest in the oppressed of all nations ; 
she has sought the advancement and the elevation of 
mankind, by instilling into their hearts and minds 
the true conception of their great dignity and 
destiny. 

My brethren, Jesus Christ loved you in the person 
of that vast multitude that gathered around Him in 
His retreat on the mountain-side. To-day, He has 
the same kindly feelings for you ; but they find ex- 
pression in and through the Church. For you the 
Church has her choicest blessings ; for you, her 



100 Father Walsh 

sacraments ; for you, her favored ones, she holds in 
her hands at all times a bread far more miraculous 
than that of which mention is made in to-day's Gos- 
pel. She holds in trust for you, the bread of life 
eternal. "Whoever shall eat this bread," says 
Christ, in instituting the Holy Eucharist, " shall 
have life eternal/ ' 

The Blessed Sacrament of the Altar is the sub- 
limest proof of God's solicitude for our spiritual wel- 
fare, and of His special love for souls. It is, indeed, 
the mystery of love, the depth of which we can never 
fathom. The most we can do is to suggest a few 
reasons and means of acquitting ourselves of the 
sacred duty we owe to our Blessed Lord. It is evi- 
dent we should love Him, because He loved us first. 
This is a matter of simple gratitude ; but every mark 
of gratitude is in a sense a mark of love. 

There are two ways in which we may show this 
gratitude : First, frequent and worthy reception of 
the Holy Eucharist. It were useless for me to speak 
of the devout practices to the larger and better por- 
tion of this congregation. A short experience has 
afforded me ample proof of your piety in this re- 
spect. Another mark of our loving devotion to our 
Divine Saviour is the frequent visitation to Him in 
the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar. These two 
practices have made many saints ; they will make us 
saints. Follow them faithfully, my brethren, if pos- 
sible, and you will find them a comfort to your souls, 
oftentimes world weary ; and from them you will 
also experience a sweet consolation at the hour of 
death. Jesus will come to you then, to close your 
eyes softly in that long sleep which knows no awak- 
ening until resurrection morn, when He will open 
them again, we trust, in the kingdom of His glory. 



Sermons 101 

HOLY THURSDAY. 

" Panem de coelo prsestitisti eis." — "Thou 
gavest them bread from Heaven."— Wisdom. 

Dear Sisters and Children of the Sacred Heart : 

Of all the weeks of the year, there is one that is 
called holy. Of all the days of that week, there are 
two that are called holier than the rest. One is Good 
Friday, bearing a message of infinite sorrow, telling 
a tale of incomparable suffering. The other is Holy 
Thursday, rich in memories that fill and thrill the 
human heart with a heavenly joy. For if the cruci- 
fixion reminds us of sin, and sorrow, and suffering, 
the Last Supper symbolizes, in the sublimest manner 
possible, the inexpressible love of Christ Jesus for 
the sin-laden, the tempted, and the afflicted. 

Blessed truth, this ! Consoling thought ! Since 
the worlds first Holy Thursday, souls have had no 
reason to despair. Nor should any trial sadden our 
lives, nor any trouble cause us to grieve like those 
who have no hope. We have our Blessed Lord with 
us in the Sacrament of the Altar, and He is there to 
strengthen and console us, as He said He would. 
Listen to His own words : ' I am the bread of the 
strong," and "I will comfort thee as one whom his 
mother comf orteth. ' ' 

Think you, dear children, it matters much when 
these words fell from the Saviour's sacred lips ? 
No ; for His promises to hear and to help us in what- 
soever day we shall cry unto Him, are the same 
yesterday, to-day, and to-morrow. They dispel dark- 
ness and sadness from life just as effectually as they 
did in the long ago, and they still bring a new 
courage and a new hope to the heavily laden heart 
and the sin-stained soul. 

There is, perhaps, no class of persons in all this 
world of ours who stand more in need of that sym- 
pathy and that love divine than do poor sinners, 



102 Father Walsh 

struggling back, it may be slowly and painfully, to 
the light of grace, and to the arms of a forgiving 
father. For many of you little ones it is impossible 
to understand the sighings and the sufferings of 
those who, like Holy David, have sinned against the 
Lord. Living, as you are, in an atmosphere of piety, 
you know, as yet, nothing of the great struggle going 
on in the world between good and evil ; you know, as 
yet, nothing of the dangers and temptations that 
await you outside these convent walls. Virtue seems 
to be had for the mere asking ; victory is the easiest 
thing imaginable. But will it always be thus ? We 
know not. What we do know is this : that the sinner 
admits the folly of evil, and realizes, to his own sor- 
row, the meaning of these prophetic words : ' ' Know 
thou and see that it is an evil and a bitter thing for 
thee to have left the Lord thy God." 

If you wish to know better than you do, the 
fearful consequences of sin, and obtain a better in- 
sight into the pitiable state to which it eventually 
brings the transgressor, read the story of the Prodi- 
gal Son. He went out from his father's house well 
clad, with a well-filled purse, and in the best of 
health. Temptation assails him, and he falls ; the 
thought of his father haunts him. He will return to 
his old home, even though he must go back ragged, 
and hungry, and broken in health. What a change ! 
The experiment was a bitter one, for it robbed him 
of everything save the boundless sympathy and the 
patient love of his father. 

But you may wish to delve deeper into the con- 
sideration of the sinner's life, and study its touching 
yearnings after God. If so, look carefully at the 
awful picture of the ten lepers whom Jesus met one 
day on His way from Jerusalem to Jericho. 'Tis a 
ghastly picture, to be sure ; still, it teaches us noth- 
ing else except the foulest features of sin. Accord- 
ing to the Jewish Law, lepers were classed among" 



Sermons 103 

the unclean ; their disease was considered not only 
dangerous, but also contagious and incurable. Con- 
sequently the afflicted ones were taken forcibly from 
home and kindred, and sent to a lonely settlement 
outside the city limits, known as the "leper colony.' ' 
Here they were obliged to remain until death came 
to their relief. 

Come with me, dear children, and visit in thought 
the "lepers' colony.' ' Have you ever witnessed 
anywhere such misery as you meet here ? Now you 
see them ; for, sure enough, the lives of the victims 
of leprosy are a living death. Oh ! how they sigh for 
the happy days that are gone forever ; how they talk 
by day, and dream by night, of the loving friends 
they shall see no more ; how they recall again and 
again the last forced words of farewell that are 
never spoken but once — and then at the death-bed ! 

Do you turn away in disgust from the picture of 
wretchedness, and say you can neither see, nor im- 
agine, the depth of the cloud of darkness and de- 
spair that must have hung over that poor outcasts' 
colony ? Well, we are not surprised ; the misery is 
too deep for human understanding ; but it is not, for 
all that, without a remedy. You have heard it said, 
and it is a true saying, that ' ' every cloud, be it ever 
so black, has a silver lining." Wherever there is 
darkness, you are always sure to find behind it light 
and sunshine. This is a truth of the natural world, 
and, thank God, of the spiritual world too. Does not 
everyday life furnish us thousands of striking proofs ? 
However, there is, perhaps, nowhere a more con- 
vincing evidence of it than in the lives of these self- 
same lepers. When disease had blighted their every 
hope, and reduced them physically to moving masses 
of corruption, a strange light flashed in upon them, 
and, lo ! sickness gave place to health, and hopeless- 
ness to happiness. 

What was this light, dear children ? I will tell 



104 Father Walsh 

you ; 'twas the sweet smile of God ; 'twas the love 
of the Sacred Heart. Yes, Jesus had come and cured 
them. 

Now, why have we referred, on a day like this, to 
the prodigal son, and the ten lepers, to darkness, and 
wretchedness, and leprosy, to sin and sinners ? Oh ! 
some of you may have divined the reason. Human 
nature has changed but little since the time of Christ ; 
our moral weaknesses are the same now as they were 
then, and they require the same almighty remedy — 
sympathy and love divine. I need scarcely tell you, 
dear children, that there are, in these our own days, 
prodigal sons and prodigal daughters, not a few who 
need the same kiss of peace and reconciliation that 
was given to the youth of long ago ; and we have, 
to-day, spiritual lepers, sinners, who are perhaps 
sighing for a glimpse of the Saviour, ready to cry 
unto Him : "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us." 

Will no answer ever come to relieve the monotony 
of that cry going up to heaven from sunrise to sun- 
set, and from sunset to sunrise ? True, the world ad- 
mits, "No." Ah ! but the world is mocking us. Let 
it tell me, if it will, that I must struggle against 
poverty ; let it tell me that I must suffer in mind and 
in body ; let it tell me that I must lose what is near- 
est and dearest to me in life ; let it tell me that I, 
too, must become an outcast from home, and kindred, 
and the society of my fellow-man ; but let it not tell 
me there is no Jesus near at hand to hear me and to 
help me out of my sins. If an angel came down from 
heaven with such a message, I would curse him and 
call him a devil ; for I know that my Lord and Saviour 
is there — in the sacrament of His love— the same 
good and compassionate Shepherd of my soul that He 
always was. and a 1 ways will be. 

The object of a shepherd is to protect the flock and 
lead it into pastures rich and green, where the sheep 
may feed and wax strong. What a touching image 



Sermons 105 

of tender love ! In the wilderness of this world v 
Jesus says to you : "You are the sheep of My flock. '* 
He tells us to sit down at the table which He Himself 
has prepared for us. And behold, when we have 
washed and wiped away our sins, He gives us bread 
from heaven — the bread of the strong ; the bread of 
virgins ; the bread of angels ; the bread of life ; the 
bread that contains in itself all sweetness. "Omne 
delectamentum in se habentem." 

Dear children, would that I were gifted with the 
knowledge and the eloquence of the blessed in 
heaven— with a Seraphim and a Cherubim— I would 
then speak to you of the greatness of the Son of God 
in the Holy Eucharist, not for a half -hour, not for a 
half-day, but for an eternity. The Lord never meant 
that human life, like mine, should attempt to picture 
the unspeakable love of Jesus Christ. The most He 
permits us to do, and the most He expects of us, is 
to see Him, and through that love to adore Him in 
humble faith, and receive Him frequently and piously 
into pure hearts. 

I feel, dear children, that you will often do both. 
May the lights and the flowers that surround Him to- 
day typify your faith and your love— a love and a 
faith that will always keep you ever at His side with 
Mary, His Virgin Mother. As for the rest, you need 
never fear neither sin, nor sorrow, nor suffering. 
The storm may toss and shipwreck others ; it will 
never harm you. 

And now, in conclusion, dear children, may I lay 
upon you a little injunction ? When you leave this 
blessed, peaceful convent home, be sure to carry 
away with you into this restless world, the sweet 
practice of visiting, from time to time, our Dear Lord 
in the Sacrament of the Altar. You'll have favors 
enough to ask of Him, both for yourselves and others, 
I can assure you. Although far from dear old Ken- 
wood, never forget that you owe a prayer to your be- 



106 Father Walsh 

loved teachers, to whom you shall always be bound 
by the golden links of faith, hope and charity. Pray 
that they, and you, and I, may one day enjoy the 
beatific vision, which is, after all, nothing else than 
the taking away of the veil which hides from our 
view Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist. 



GOOD FRIDAY. 



1 ' Christus passus est pro nobis. "— ' ' Christ 
suffered for us." 

Good Friday ! What a day of hallowed memories ! 
What a day of heartfelt devotions ! What a day of 
deep and holy reflections ! 

What wonder, dearly beloved brethren, that our 
minds are full of tender thoughts this morning, and 
our hearts full of grateful feelings. Is not this the 
blessed anniversary of man's emancipation from the 
bondage of sin and Satan ? Was it not on this day, 
over nineteen hundred years ago, that Christ suffered 
for us ? " Christus passus est pro nobis." 

Weigh well, ye children of God, these inspired 
words. True, they are poor in number ; but, oh ! how 
rich they are in meaning ! They tell of an event that 
has changed the whole current of human life, lifting 
up humanity to a higher plane, and leading man from 
darkness to the dawn of a brighter and better day ; 
they breathe mercy, forgiveness, hope ; they sum- 
marize a history which, for true heroism and devo- 
tion, has no parallel in the annals of the world. In 
fine, the words of our text turn our thoughts to the 
most sublime proof of God's infinite power, wisdom, 
and love. 

To show you, dearly beloved brethren, the truth of 
this assertion, let us study together for a brief half- 
hour the mystery of our redemption ; let us analyze, 



Sermons 107 

as best we can, its nature and its effects ; let us 
meditate on its all-important lessons seriously, and in 
the solitude of our hearts ; or, better still, let us go in 
spirit, and do our meditating on Calvary's heights. 
For what is there now to keep us here ? Our sur- 
roundings do not wear the same cheerful appearance 
they did yesterday ; our sanctuary lamps are extin- 
guished ; our altars are stripped, and (saddest of all 
for Catholics to bear) our tabernacles are empty. 
To-day, Holy Mother Church accompanies the Mother 
of Sorrows to Golgotha, and stands weeping beneath 
the cross of Christ, who suffered and died for us. 
" Christus passus est pro nobis.' ' 

Who is it, brethren, that suffered for us ? The 
Apostle answers, Christ. And here we have, as we 
said a moment ago, a sublime proof of God's infinite 
power. It is impossible for the mind of man to grasp 
the idea of a bleeding, suffering, dying God. We all 
feel that such a conception transcends reason, and 
that such a doctrine runs counter to human teachings 
and theories. From its very infancy the world was 
taught to associate the name of God with happiness, 
not with suffering ; with life, not with death. And 
as generation succeeded generation, the belief grew 
that He who resides in the heavens holds in the hol- 
low of His hands the hopes of nations as well as of in- 
dividuals. How, then, the world asks, could He— the 
author of life, the Lord and Master of the universe, 
the image of the Eternal Father — how could He be- 
come the object of persecution, and a subject of 
death ? How, men asked themselves, could He, the 
God of armies, the King of kings, be betrayed by a 
contemptible Judas, mocked by an adulterous Herod, 
condemned by a cowardly Pilate, insulted by a vile 
rabble, and crucified by a handful of Roman soldiers ? 
What men cannot readily understand, they, in their 
pride, ofttimes reject. Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis 
folly to be wise. 



108 Father Walsh 

Such was, brethren, the case in this instance, and 
so they did not attempt to look beneath the surface 
of things ; nor did they attempt to read the hand- 
writing of God. Understand, we do not accuse the 
Gentile, for his heart was not yet opened to the in- 
fluence of Divine grace, and, consequently, he could 
not see the light of truth. But we do accuse of an 
awful crime the Jewish priesthood, who, smarting, 
no doubt, under the scathing denunciations of the 
Saviour, wickedly misinterpreted the Holy Scrip- 
tures, and strenuously tried to reduce to a standing 
folly and shame one of the most memorable of hu- 
man events, and one of the grandest projects ever 
conceived and executed by the Divine Mind. 

Thank God that the determination of the Jewish 
priesthood to destroy faith in the mystery of Man's 
Redemption miscarried. It had to miscarry, for 
truth is mighty and shall prevail. When pharisaism 
had done its worst, a thousand witnesses sprang 
forward, ready to admit the omnipotence of the Cross 
and to attest that Christ crucified was, in the lan- 
guage of St. Paul, the very power of God. 

And not only did the Crucifixion force such a con- 
fession from centurion, soldier, and executioner, but 
even inanimate nature lifted up its voice to proclaim 
the existence of invisible strength there, where the 
world saw nothing but pitiable weakness. "And 
behold,' ' says St. Matthew, "the sun was darkened, 
and the veil of the Temple was rent in two, from the 
top even to the bottom, and the earth quaked, and 
the rocks were rent, and many bodies of the saints 
who had long slept arose from the dust." Such 
wonders can only point to power, and they easily 
explain why the blood-stained murderers of Jesus 
struck their breasts and said: "Truly, this is the 
Son of God." Living away off in Egypt, a heathen 
philosopher exclaimed : ' ' Either the God of nature 
is dying, or else the machinery of the world is going 
to pieces.' ' 



Sermons 109 

I will not try your patience, dearly beloved breth- 
ren, by seeking to advance other and weighty proofs 
of the Divine, Infinite power of the Cross. All I ask 
is to be permitted to point out briefly the wonderful, 
mysterious change its influence has wrought in this 
world of pride and sensuality. Prior to the thrilling 
tragedy of Calvary, the Cross was a sign of ig- 
nominy. Upon it were condemned to die only the 
worst criminals, the most depraved characters. It 
was, indeed, a folly to Gentiles and a scandal to the 
Jews. But what has been its history ? What the 
story of its power, since the death upon it of the Lord 
Jesus Christ ? 

Ah, my brethren, that history, that story, is a 
long and glorious one. Since the blood of the Lamb of 
God washed it, the Cross has become a sign of truth, 
a symbol of virtue, an emblem of liberty. It has out- 
lived its old enemies, and made countless friends ; it 
has given to humanity new aspirations and new in- 
fluences ; I will not say the highest, but the only 
heroism worthy of the name. It has sweetly led mil- 
lions of tender souls from loving parents and happy 
homes to embrace lives of obedience, purity and self- 
sacrifice ; it has guided the footsteps of the saintly 
missionary, and strengthened the heart of the mar- 
tyr ; it has sanctified suffering, ennobled humility, 
enriched poverty ; it has kept burning within, the 
sacred flames of faith, hope and charity. It has 
blessed infancy, brightened old age, and made sa- 
cred the ashes of the dead. Yes, brethren, it has 
done all this, and more too. Is it, therefore, any ex- 
aggeration to say that the world to-day loves what it 
once despised, and implicity admits the power of the 
Cross ? 

But Christ crucified is not merely an evidence of 
infinite power ; He is also a revelation of infinite 
wisdom. St. Paul tells us that by the disobedience 
of our first parents sin entered into the world. 



110 Father Walsh 

Now, my brethren, sin is nothing more nor less than 
the sowing of eternal hatred between God — the 
Creator, and man— the creature. It means simply 
the eternal loss of heavenly happiness. 



EASTER. 

There are times, my dear brethren, when affliction 
seems to divest life of all its charms ; times when 
tears blind our eyes to everything calculated to bind 
up and cheer our bleeding hearts ; times when grief 
closes our ears to every word of worldly comfort, to 
every expression of human sympathy. When death 
visits our homes and takes away one dear to us, oh, 
then it is that we would fain turn aside from the 
world, with its countless delusions, to go and kneel, 
and pray, and weep, beside the grave in which they 
have placed the object of our affection. 

Just such a time of unutterable grief is Holy Week 
for the Catholic Church, the Spouse of Christ. Mil- 
lions and millions of Catholic hearts were grief -laden 
while the dreadful scenes of the Passion were being 
enacted. There were tears in our eyes when we 
beheld our " Eldest Brother" standing bruised and 
pale before the Jewish judges and people ; sad 
thoughts arose in our minds when we saw His sacred 
flesh torn by the cruel scourge ; there were feelings 
of anguish in our hearts as we stood on Calvary's 
height and saw the emissaries of Satan pierce, with 
rough nails, His sacred hands and feet — those hands 
that were never raised save in prayer and blessing, 
and those feet that never wearied in spreading the 
gladsome tidings of salvation. 

To one whose frail form is racked by the intens- 
est pain, death must, indeed, be a welcome relief, a 
kindly blessing. But to the suffering Saviour, it was 
more than a relief, more than a simple cessation of 



Sermons 111 

physical and mental agony. For us mortals, death 
is, admittedly, the hour of defeat ; but for our 
Blessed Lord it was the hour of victory ; and the 
grave, that never fails to shatter human hopes and 
ambitious designs, was to Him the beginning of 
everlasting honor and glory. This victory over sin 
and the grave has long been, and ever shall be, the 
one, great, mighty mainstay of Holy Mother Church. 

On Good Friday she followed the body of her 
Spouse to the tomb, and, in the person of the holy 
women, lingered lovingly round the sepulchre, await- 
ing with an expectant heart the dawn of a new day, 
to verify the prophecy of the Resurrection. And, 
true enough, my dear brethren, this morning her 
tears are wiped away, her faith is richly rewarded, 
her hopes fully realized ; for, quoting the words of 
the angel, she hastens to say to us, her children, that 
' ' He is risen. ' ' And rolling back the stone from the 
sepulchre, she bids us enter, saying, the while : ' ' He 
is not here ; behold the place where they laid Him." 

And now that we wept with the Church in her 
sadness, it is only meet and proper, my brethren, that 
we should rejoice with her to-day in her gladness. 
Let us rejoice in spirit to see our God and Redeemer 
in the peaceful possession of the glory due to His 
sufferings and merits. Let us rejoice to see our 
Saviour, impassible and immortal, forevermore 
screened from the malice of men, and from the fury 
of hell. "He died once," says St. Paul, "but is to 
die no more." 

In arising from the dead, our Blessed Lord had two 
objects in view. First, He wished His resurrection 
to be a living proof of His Divinity, and a mark of the 
divinity of His Church. Secondly, He wished Easter 
Sunday to be a perpetual encouragement, a lasting con- 
solation, to His followers. Surely, in the fact of His 
resurrection, it is comparatively easy, my brethren, 
to recognize the power of One Who is omnipotent. 



112 Father Walsh 

The power of man is, we confess, great, and his 
skill wonderful ; but great and wonderful as they 
are, they have their well-defined limits. Men have 
power on the earth. They have reared up magnifi- 
cent structures, they have achieved great things in 
the arts and sciences, they have drawn from nature 
her most cherished secrets ; but there is one thing 
no man can ever do : he cannot lift his dead hand, 
nor bring back life to the pulseless heart. Only God 
can do that, and when Christ Jesus did it, He proved 
simply, and beyond the shadow of a doubt, that He 
was really God. 

Christ, therefore, being God, it necessarily follows 
that the doctrine He preached, and which He com- 
missioned His apostles to spread throughout the 
world, bears the seal and sanction of heaven. In 
vain do we seek another cause for the constant and 
marvelous growth of the Catholic Church. Despite 
persecutions and difficulties innumerable, she has 
lived and flourished like her Divine Master. She has 
been despised in one country, only to be honored and 
trusted in another. She has encountered many 
would-be terrors, but she has survived them all, be- 
cause she was strong in the strength of Him who 
triumphed on Easter Sunday, once and forever, over 
the enemies of light and truth. 

Yes, brethren, Jesus has triumphed. His power, 
His influence, His name, is felt and recognized in 
every civilized nation under the vault of heaven. 
His cross is high above a thousand altars, and His 
followers, counted by the hundred millions, celebrate 
to-day the glories of His Resurrection. 

The second object Christ had in rising from the 
dead, was, as we have said, to encourage and console 
those who believe in Him. Like the Israelites of old, 
we are all journeying towards the land of promise. 
The way is narrow. It is full of mysterious wind- 
ings, and ultimately leads to the grave, through 



Sermons 113 

which, however, we hope to enter into life eternal. 
Christ rose again. Then we shall also rise from the 
grave. Oh ! my dearest friends, what consolation 
should not this thought bring home to God's afflicted 
ones ! To the widow, it speaks of a reunion beyond 
the tomb, and sheds a bright light round a fond hus- 
band's dark, green grave. It sings the sweet song of 
hope to parents who miss from their side the children 
they have lost, telling them of a home where families 
never separate, and where affection's broken chain is 
welded once more. It consoles orphans, assuring 
them they shall meet their father again in the Happy 
Land, and look again upon mother's face— that face 
in which they of ttimes read more plainly than any 
words can tell, the lessons of deep devotion and the 
principles of true virtue. It hallows the resting- 
place of our brothers and sisters, and gives a new life 
to old friendships ; for we received on this blessed 
day the assurance that we shall meet again on eter- 
nity's shores, all the good, and pure, and virtuous 
friends whom we knew and loved so dearly in life. 

Hence, my brethren, the glorious feast we cele- 
brate to-day is a most powerful incentive to lead holy 
lives and avoid sinful habits. Alas ! this grand sol- 
emnity can have but little significance for him who 
is not risen with Christ, victorious over sin and death. 
He has, indeed, ears to hear the medley of mingled 
song and prayer, but he listens as one half -uncon- 
scious, or as from a distance, to the voice of exultation 
that the Church is sending up to heaven. 

Poor sinner, how can he have any share in our 
Easter rejoicing ? For him, there is no real joy, no 
calm, no rest, no gladness. For him, Christ is not 
risen. For him, there can be no Easter till the 
blood of the Lamb, flowing through the channels of 
the sacraments, washes his sin-stained soul, and re- 
stores him to the communion of saints. May God 
soon grant this grace to all His wayward children. 



114 Father Walsh 

To those who, during the Lenten season, have 
sincerely turned to God, and have risen from the 
grave of sin, I would say on this glorious anniver- 
sary : Persevere unto the end, for to perseverance is 
promised a never-ending Easter in Heaven. Amen. 



EASTER SERMON. 



" This is the day which the Lord hath made : 
Let us rejoice and be glad therein. ,, — Ps. cxvii, 24. 

It has been said, brethren, that Christ never 
smiled during His life on earth. 

If this saying is true, there must be a reason, for 
philosophy tells us there is a reason for everything. 
In matters speculative, the Church is always silent, 
thus leaving everyone free to follow his or her own 
fancy. And so, too, we are left free— free to confess 
that we have been converted to the belief that Christ 
never smiled while on earth. For two reasons such a 
belief seems to be well founded. In the first place, 
we feel that our Blessed Saviour must have had in 
His Divine mind, from the very beginning to the very 
end of His earthly existence, a knowledge of the 
purpose for which He had come into this world. 
Time and time again He must have whispered to 
Himself, ' ' I am come into the world to seek and to 
save that which is lost " — a task quite as arduous as 
it was thankless. In the second place, Christ, know- 
ing the nature of His mission to the world, we find it 
must have been looming up before Him, in all places 
and at all times — the awful price which Divine 
Justice exacted of Him who was willing to redeem a 
discredited and disinherited race. St. Paul calls that 
price " great,' ' and no wonder ; for what could possi- 
bly be greater, or more precious, than the sacrificial 
atonement made for sin on Good Friday afternoon ? 



Sermons 115 

Under such circumstances, ought we be surprised 
if Christ never smiled ? And should we find it hard 
to believe that whenever the Redeemer sat down to 
meditate, His soul must have been sorrowful even 
unto death, and that whenever He knelt to pray, His 
poor humanity must have sought no recreation, but 
rather strength to finish the work the Heavenly 
Father had given Him to do ? 

In one of the apocryphal gospels, the story is 
told of how the Christ-child, playing one day in the 
humble work-shop of Nazareth, fashioned with His 
tiny hands a little wooden cross. Was He thus re- 
vealing to favored souls the sad secrets of His Sacred 
Heart ? Or was He, perhaps, thus laying bare to 
the world the thoughts that were uppermost in His 
Divine mind ? Or, finally, was He thus only illustrat- 
ing and confirming the truth of an old and familiar 
saying, namely, that coming events were casting 
their shadows before ? We know not, brethren ; but 
this we do know : there were no empty dreams, no 
illusions, in the life of Christ concerning His " medi- 
atorship." He had carefully and prayerfully calcu- 
lated the cost, and so we cannot but believe that 
sorrow had stamped Jesus for her very own, and 
that the actual happenings of Holy Thursday night 
and Good Friday, long anticipated, were enough, and 
more than enough, to make the happiest heart heavy, 
and the sweetest, saintliest face sad. The power 
of anticipation and realization had robbed the one 
only Divine Life on earth of all its sunshine. 

Fortunately for us, brethren, we shall never 
know any sorrow like unto His sorrow. The nearest 
approach to it is the appalling blindness of men and 
women, who fail to find unmistakable proofs of 
supernatural power behind and beneath Christ's sad- 
ness, sorrow, suffering, and death. 

Because we cannot fathom the infinite depth of 
God's wondrous wisdom and love, many people of 



116 Father Walsh 

to-day are inclined to be like the people of old— in- 
different to the cause of Christ, scoffers, skeptics, 
unbelievers. And, just like the people of old, mil- 
lions of people of to-day are tempted to look upon 
Christ immersed in a very sea of sadness and sorrow, 
not a conquering hero, nor the invincible leader of 
an invincible cause, but rather as a sign to be con- 
tradicted, as a folly to be denied, as a visionary to be 
disowned, as an influence to be ignored, and as a 
teacher to be despised. 

My brethren, when we think of the low estimates 
put upon Christ's character and career, when we 
think of Jesus Christ being reputed a sinner, and rel- 
egated to the criminal class, we cannot help crying 
out, in the words of Inspiration, "0 perverse gen- 
eration ! Thy blindness is as pathetic as it is pro- 
verbial. Would that thou hadst known, and that 
this, thy day, the things that are for thy peace, but 
thou wouldst not, and now they are hidden from thy 
eyes. ' ' 

Things that were for the peace of God's people, 
and for the glory of their immortal souls, were hap- 
pening every day, before the very eyes of the people 
of old, but they could not understand them ; they 
could not interpret them ; they could not read the 
signs of the times. Being a carnal, worldly, sensual- 
minded people, they could not perceive the things of 
God ; they could not see, beloved, the sad face of 
Jesus Christ, the majesty and power of God. They 
could not delve into the secrets of His heart and read 
in them the providential place of man's redemption. 
They could not recognize in His sublime sayings and 
sermons the warnings and the wisdom of heaven. 
"The sensual man perverteth the things of God." 
The people of old knew not " the Man of Sorrows." 
Therefore, they found it both easy and natural to re- 
ject Him and to condemn Him ; so true is it, brethren, 
that there is never a single step, and that a short 
step, between ignorance and injustice. 



Sermons 117 

The cond Bmnation of the Son of Man was the 
most brutal blunder ever heard of in the history of 
humanity ; the foulest blot ever put upon the juris- 
prudence of the civilized world ; the most nefarious 
insult ever offered to innocence ; the most unfor- 
tunate and irreparable mistake ever made by any 
people, not excepting a people blinded by Satanic 
prejudice and malice. 

Ancient sacerdotalism and pharisaism, the in- 
stigators of that crime, soon found themselves sub- 
merged in a veritable sea of contempt ; a contempt 
heightened, and deepened, and widened by their 
failure to read and remember the fulfilled promises 
of prophecy. Were not those learned doctors of the 
law familiar, for instance, with the promise made in 
Paradise, to the effect that the Virgin's child would 
crush the heads of Satan and his satellites ? How 
could they fail to investigate and appreciate the 
claims of the only man whose biography was written 
before His birth ? 

Let me tell you, brethren, our world never writes 
biographies and histories of men and events until 
they at least materialize. The best the world can 
do is to write the story of a great man's greatness 
during that man's life. Jesus Christ alone enjoys 
the distinction of having had clearly recorded — in 
prophecy — the principal facts of His earthly career. 
How, then, could the doctors of the Old Law, and 
the leaders of the people of old, have been ignorant 
of the facts, and, oh ! how could they have been so 
blinded as to shut their eyes and their ears to His 
works and words — works and words that fairly 
bristle with evidence of power and life divine ? 

If every work of Jesus of Nazareth did not bear 
the stamp of supernatural power ; if His every word 
did not show forth the wisdom of the Father, then, 
and not till then, would it have been right for the 
people of old to judge Jesus by "the rags He wore, 



118 Father Walsh 

and the cross He bore" ; and this world, this earth 
of ours, would have been spared the humiliating in- 
dictment of "Deicide." 

Knowing as you do, brethren, from the Gospels, 
what His works were, you know, too, that His mir- 
acles were never equalled, or even attempted, before 
or since His time. And as for His words, we defy 
any man of any place or time to show us one single 
instance in which His practice was not as good as 
His preaching. We defy him to show one single 
instance in which His claims were not verified, His 
promises not fulfilled, His teaching not upheld by 
common sense and common decency. 

To illustrate our meaning, permit me, brethren, to 
cite just one of Christ's sayings — one that is not only 
pertinent to our purpose, but most appropriate to our 
glorious feast of Easter, "the day which the Lord 
hath made." A short time before His condemnation, 
the Master had said to His disciples : ' ' Behold, we go 
up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man shall be de- 
livered to the Gentiles, who shall put Him to death." 
Now, brethren, mark these epoch-making words : 
" But the third day I shall rise again." 

Did He fail to fulfill that promise ? Did He fail 
to rise again ? Ask those pious women who, to-day's 
Gospel tells us, went out early in the morning of the 
third day, bent upon anointing and embalming the 
dead body of Christ, according to Jewish custom. 
Ask them to tell you what they saw and heard. 
They saw the great stone rolled back from the door 
of the Holy Sepulchre ; they saw discarded death 
clothes ; they saw an empty tomb. They went out 
to that ever-memorable burial place, expecting to see 
the dead Christ. Instead, they see a living angel 
sitting on the right hand side of the tomb. That 
angel speaks words of comfort to them, bids them 
not to fear or fret, assures them that He whom they 
seek is not there. 



Sermons 119 

"He is risen, ' ' were the angelic words. * He 
is not here ; behold the place where they have laid 
Him." After all, just as Jesus said, that newly made 
grave outside of Jerusalem was not a permanent 
sepulchre, but only a three days' resting-place for 
that torn and worn body, whose whole earthly exist- 
ence was so cruelly overwhelmed by the dark vision 
of Calvary and the Cross. 

'Twas the strong arm of the Roman law that 
bound the Saviour of the world in the fetters of death, 
and shut up His dead body behind the great door of 
the Holy Sepulchre ; but it was the stronger arm of His 
own Omnipotence that burst asunder these fetters 
and unsealed the door of that tomb. And so, after 
death comes life, and after burial comes resurrection. 
These are, my brethren, a few of the thoughts that 
give significance to this glorious feast of Easter, this 
day which the Lord has made. We rejoice and are 
glad in the memories of the world's first Easter day, 
for Christ's victory over the powers of darkness is 
our victory as well. Our Saviour says so. Hence, 
we must believe that after life's struggles, crosses, 
trials and tears, there will come a day of eternal rest, 
peace, joy, and victorious vindication. If there be 
among us to-day any that mourn, let them be com- 
forted. If the grave hides away any heart treasure, 
let them say, in faith and hope, one day that grave 
will give me back again that which I have loved and 
lost. 

Infidelity sneers at the gospel of our immortal 
hopes. Scoffers and skeptics would destroy such a 
belief. What, let us ask, will they give us in ex- 
change ? Everlasting darkness, everlasting silence, 
everlasting oblivion, everlasting death. We want 
none of that crude breed. The mind and the heart 
of man will continue to cling to the promises of 
Christ, and the world will continue to sing the same 
old song of spiritual victory : ' ' Alleluia ! Christ is 



120 Father Walsh 

risen.' ' Easter day is His and our day. 'Let us 
rejoice and be glad therein. ,, Alleluia ! 



FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 

PRAYER. 

It is impossible, dearly beloved brethren, to read 
this Sunday's Gospel and fail to be convinced of the 
necessity and efficacy of prayer. More than once 
during His public career our Divine Saviour forcibly 
alluded to this subject, always teaching His hearers 
why, and when, and how they were to fulfill this im- 
portant duty. " Watch," said He, "and pray, lest 
you fall into temptation." And again: "Ask, and 
you shall receive ; seek, and you shall find ; knock, 
and it shall be opened unto you. ' ' 

Naturally, the Apostles were the first to weigh 
these words of Christ, and to appreciate the lesson 
which they so plainly taught. Hence, we find St. 
Peter making for himself and his brother Apostles 
this simple, earnest request: "Lord, teach us to 
pray." And the Divine Master did teach, not them 
alone, but also the vast multitudes that gathered 
around Him to hear the Word of Life. He even went 
so far as to lay down for His followers of all times a 
beautiful model to imitate. "When you pray," were 
His words, say: "Our Father, Who art in heaven, 
hallowed be Thy Name ; Thy kingdom come, Thy will 
be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this 
day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, 
as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead 
us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." 

During the nineteen centuries that have elapsed 
since this prayer came from the lips of our Blessed 
Redeemer, the world has seen many changes ; and 
many sublime sayings of the world's sages have gone 



Sermons 121 

down into the grave of oblivion. But the simple 
"Our Father" of the Christian Church has survived 
the wreck of time, coming down to us of to-day in all 
its pristine beauty and power, as if to remind us of 
the ever-present necessity of turning to God for 
needed help and strength, and of calling upon our 
Heavenly Father for assistance in all our wants, 
spiritual and temporal. "Ask the Father whatso- 
ever you will in My name," says Christ, "and He 
will give it unto you. ' ' 

But Christ did not consider it sufficient merely 
to impose the obligation of prayer ; He did something 
more, for in Him theory and practice always blended 
perfectly. He preached only what He practiced first 
Himself, and He was never known to commend a 
virtue, or enjoin a precept, which He was not the 
first to ennoble and exemplify in His own life. 
Thus, for instance, He preached purity, but He was 
pure Himself. He exhorted His disciples to be char- 
itable, but He Himself was charitable even to His 
enemies. He taught men submission to their legiti- 
mate superiors, but He was most obedient not only 
to superiors, but to inferiors, to His own creatures. 
He wished His followers to acquire humility, but He, 
the God of all riches and power and glory, proved 
Himself truly humble of heart, by living among men 
in the guise of a helpless child, and as one obliged to 
eat His bread by the sweat of His brow. Yes, my 
brethren, Jesus exemplified in His own life the 
necessity as well as the godliness of chastity, of 
charity, and humility, and obedience. He made for 
these virtues a name and a home among men. 

In a manner not less beautiful did He illustrate 
the necessity of the holy exercise of prayer. He 
Himself gave us an example. He prayed Himself, 
frequently retiring to the Garden of Gethsemane, 
where He was wont to pass the whole night in con- 
versation with His Eternal Father. If, therefore, our 



122 Father Walsh 

Blessed Lord taught us the lesson, who will say that 
it is unnecessary or useless for us to pray ? Some 
people simply stultify themselves by so thinking ; 
for, my brethren, the fact that God knows our wants 
better than we know them ourselves, argues abso- 
lutely nothing against the necessity of prayer. True, 
God knows our needs and has promised to relieve 
them, but on this one condition, that we ask for 
blessings and favors. "Ask, and you shall receive.' ' 
If we received without asking, we should be 
tempted to attribute them to ourselves— a most fatal 
delusion, since we have nothing and can do nothing 
of ourselves. 

Nor is prayer useless because we oftentimes ask 
and fail to receive. Want of success on our part is 
only an admission that our prayers are not what they 
should be, that they are said hurriedly, without con- 
fidence, without humility, without perseverance, 
without attention. Of many Christian families and 
congregations, God can say what He once said of the 
Scribes and Pharisees : ' ' This people honor Me with 
their lips, but their hearts are far from Me." 

Why is it, my brethren, that society is so corrupt 
and rotten ? Why is it that the Church, our mother, 
is retarded in her onward march and held up to the 
scorn and ridicule of her enemies ? The reason is 
very simple ; it is because men and women do not 
pray properly. Perhaps they are afraid to pray, lest 
God, taking them at their word, might heal their 
sores and convert their hearts, and break the chains 
that bind them to brutal, beastly habits. It may be 
a very painful admission, but it is nevertheless true, 
that there is just such a goodly number of people in 
the Catholic Church. Unworthy Catholics are found 
in the house of God Sunday after Sunday. They are 
here ostensibly to ask for strength to combat their 
passions and conquer their base appetites. But how 
meaningless their prayers ! Their lips move, but 



Sermons 123 

their hearts are far from God. We are not sur- 
prised, my brethren, if such prayers are useless ; 
nor are we surprised, when evening comes, to find 
such Catholics under certain circumstances that ex- 
cite our disgust and make them utterly unfit to as- 
sociate with a respectable, God-fearing people. 

We do not hestitate, therefore, to attribute all 
the spiritual falls and all the moral miseries and evils 
with which the world is cursed, to a want of sin- 
cere, earnest prayer. There can be no other cause, 
and both reason and experience bear us out in this 
assertion. The history of individuals, like the his- 
tory of nations, repeats itself, and shows that now, 
as in former times, God forsakes those who forsake 
Him. 

On the other hand, He refuses no graces to those 
who seek Him and pray to Him with the proper dis- 
positions. Moses prays on the mountain, and the 
enemies of God's people are defeated ; Judith prays, 
and her country is delivered ; the pious King Eze- 
chias prays, and God revokes the sentence of death 
which He had pronounced against Him ; the publican 
prays in the temple, and he goes thence justified ; 
the sinful woman prays, and her sins are forgiven ; 
the good thief prays on the cross, and he obtains 
mercy and pardon. Hence, it is as St. John says : 
1 1 That which excites our confidence in God is that 
He hears in us all that we ask conformable to His 
will. We know He will hear us in all whatsoever we 
ask of Him, and we know it because we have already 
received the favors which we asked.' ' 

If we read carefully the account of Christ's mira- 
cles, we shall find that most of them were wrought 
in response to prayer. We need no further proof of 
this than the striking instance recorded in this day's 
Gospel. The son of a certain ruler of Caparnaum 
was lying at the point of death. The anxious father, 
his heart heavy with grief, seeks Jesus, and makes 



124 Father Walsh 

known to him the object of his mission. He has con- 
fidence in prayer, and humbly asks our dear Lord to 
come down and see his son before he die. Moved 
by his earnest appeal, Christ simply said to him : 
"Go thy way, thy son liveth." Behold, my dear 
brethren, the worth of prayer. This was happy news, 
a fit answer to a humble prayer. It restored health 
to the sick, and happiness to the home of that ruler. 

Now, my brethren, how do we act when we are 
exposed to temptations, and are consequently dead 
to sanctifying grace and almost at the point of spirit- 
ual death ? Do we pray to God in all simplicity, in 
all humility, and in all confidence, asking Him to come 
to our assistance and to deliver us from evil ? Too 
many, alas ! forget their duty in times of peril to the 
soul. Patience they are a stranger to ; they live in 
sin, and they would perhaps die in sin were it not 
oftentimes for the supplication of some good angel or 
of some good friend. It is a familiar sight to see a 
pious, heart-broken mother wending her way to the 
house of God and to God's altar, there to ask for the 
conversion of a wayward son or daughter. Will God 
never hear and answer her prayer ? Undoubtedly 
He will, for such prayers are most pleasing to the 
heart of God. True, it may require long years of 
persistent appeal, and it may be that she shall never 
see the happy results of her supplications ; but, some 
day, in God's good time, her child, converted from its 
evil ways, will stand by her green grave and bless 
her memory. Thanks to her prayers and tears, St. 
Monica obtained the conversion of her son, who be- 
came afterwards a light in the Church of God, and 
one of the greatest saints. 

May her success be an incentive to all parents to 
pray for their wayward children, until God restores 
them to spiritual health. And in your devotions, my 
dear brethren, do not forget the Church Militant. 
Pray for her, especially during the month of October 



Sermons 125 

—the month of the Holy Rosary — and let to-day, the 
feast of the Most Holy Rosary, mark the beginning 
of a life of prayer. Urge your petitions with confi- 
dence, and persevere in urging them. Then you will 
not and cannot be disappointed, for your good and 
merciful God will say to you: "Go; be it done to 
thee as thou wilt. ,, Amen. 



FEAST OF THE ASCENSION. 
" He ascended into heaven.' ' — Nicene Creed. 

To-day we celebrate, my brethren, the great 
feast of the Ascension. 

For the faithful ones of the household of God it 
was a day of holy inspiration and happy anticipation 
of exceeding great joy ; for, not only did it remind 
us of Eternal Love's everlasting triumph over hell's 
hatred, but it was especially an occasion for self- 
congratulation, as being, so to speak, humanity's 
birthday in heaven. 

From the time sin entered the world until the 
simple shepherds heard the thrilling music of angels' 
voices singing, "Glory to God in the highest," hu- 
man nature lay buried in an abyss of degradation, 
from which God's mercy could and did rescue it. 
Rehabilitated on the day of the Incarnation, it was 
glorified, for the first time, on that of the Ascen- 
sion, when the sacred humanity of Jesus, our Eldest 
Brother, the Just One, was ascended on high, to 
dwell forever more in the celestial courts above. 

That such a feast, and such an event in the life 
of our Blessed Lord, should fill every pious Christian 
heart with feelings of great joy, is nothing strange. 
Nor are we asserting too much when we venture to 
express the conviction, that departing, it has left to 
you, dearly beloved, many lessons of practical im- 
port, many thoughts akin to the strongest incentives 



126 Father Walsh 

to center your best affections on that happy home 
which, the Gospel tells us, Christ went to prepare for 
you in the kingdom of His glory. Indeed, such a 
conviction would be altogether logical, were it not 
for the apprehension that perhaps many a Christian 
has been, and may be tempted again, to listen to the 
votaries of a sinful world, who are sure to miscon- 
strue the lessons of the Ascension and misinterpret 
its hard exactions as duties impossible of fulfillment. 
For, according to their idea, God is exacting too much 
from the men and women of the nineteenth century 
when He commands them to detach their affections 
from earth, and to seek first the kingdom of heaven. 
To them it seems the veriest folly to lift up our 
minds to the contemplation of heavenly desires, and 
to labor and pray for those things which human eye 
hath never seen, which human ear hath never heard, 
nor any human heart been able to conceive. They 
would have us believe that the world is everything, 
the world to come — nothing. They would have us 
believe, foolishly, maliciously, and contrary to the 
express doctrine of St. Paul, that we must enjoy to 
the utmost the present hour, and seek happiness 
in the things which nature and creation offer to our 
senses. 

But an intelligent Christian congregation need 
not be shown that such a doctrine, while flattering 
our pride, is pandering to our lowest instincts, is to 
be abhorred as being totally opposed to the dictates 
of both reason and religion, and that we must, con- 
sequently, look higher than earth, higher than na- 
ture, higher than creation, for the source of true and 
lasting happiness. Yes ; we feel that nothing less 
than heaven, nothing less than the God of heaven, 
can ever satisfy the innate and intense longings of 
the human heart for peace, and rest, and happiness. 
For God and heaven are the only good, supreme and 
eternal. All things else, says St. Bernard, are 






Sermons 127 

unworthy of spiritual man ; for, whatever is not 
eternal, is nothing. This is precisely where the vo- 
taries of the world, where the creatures of time, 
fatally err ; they worship fleeting pleasures, and 
adore idols that are doomed to share the grave with 
passing years, 

Let us reflect a moment, my brethren, and see if 
this be not so. See, for instance, the miser : his god 
is his money. Few realize how industriously he has 
labored to hoard up his dollars, and the world knows 
how he must think and plan to make his fortune se- 
cure from eluding his vain grasp. How long will it 
last, this happiness, if restless days and nights can 
indeed be called happiness ? Ah ! death is advanc- 
ing every day upon the miser, noiselessly, but 
swiftly ; a few years hence he shall have ceased to 
worship this false deity, and of all his wealth, he 
shall not take to the grave with him enough to dis- 
tinguish the poorest slave that ever lived and died. 

Is this happiness ? Yes, the happiness of avar- 
ice. Is the man who seeks happiness in worldly 
pleasures any more successful ? Most assuredly not. 
For, though worldly pleasures may have their day, 
they scarcely ever survive the years of youth, or 
manhood, or womanhood, upon which they ofttimes 
leave the seal of infamy and disgrace. And shall I 
ask you, dear Christian brethren, if those who kneel 
at the shrine of carnal passion find real peace and 
happiness ? God forbid that from a Christian pulpit 
we should do more than to allude to them of whom 
St. Paul wrote: " Their God is their appetites.' ' 
The question is best answered by the victims of vice 
themselves. If any class of sinners, they seem to 
say, and we say it, too, with the full knowledge that 
we can all fall, unless we be held up by and in the 
arms of Divine grace ; if any class of sinners is 
cruelly, hopelessly deceived, it is that to which be- 
long the victims of impurity. This vice has its own 



128 Father Walsh 

hell. It has untold tortures for its victims, and when 
they come to die, the desecrated, polluted temple of 
a banished God will, by contact, soil the very dirt of 
the grave, to which a heartless and heedless world 
consigns them. 

In showing you, dearly beloved brethren, that 
our innate longing for happiness is not, and cannot, 
be satisfied here below, and that we have here noth- 
ing lasting, we have been careful neither to exag- 
gerate the truth nor distort facts. Within the nar- 
row limits of our own short ministry we have met 
with hundreds of willing witnesses to the truth of all 
we have said, and though we shudder at the bare 
thought, we are morally certain to receive on the day 
of judgment further confirmation from the lips of 
perhaps some of you who, by a strange contradiction, 
are here in the presence of God this morning, only to 
give yourselves up again this evening, or to-morrow, 
to the hateful service of the world, the flesh, and the 
devil. 

In the long ago, the tempter approached the Son 
of Man, and showing Him the kingdoms of the world, 
and the glory of them, said : ' ' All this will I give 
thee, if, falling down, thou wilt adore me." As it 
was of old, so it is nowadays. The evil one goeth 
about seeking the destruction, the fall, of those who 
forget or ignore the Master's matchless answer. 
Oh ! blessed words of Christ ! Would that I could 
write them in letters intelligible, at every hour of the 
day and night, and intelligible to every people, from 
out of every nation under God's heavens : " Begone, 
Satan ; for it is written, the Lord thy God shalt thou 
adore, and Him only shalt thou serve/ ' 

They who have ears to hear, let them hear, and 
remember, the service of God alone is the only right- 
ful one ; for it is the only one that can or ever will 
satiate the unsatisfied yearings of our world-weary 
hearts. " Our hearts were made for Thee, Lord," 



Sermons 129 

says St. Augustine, ' ' and they shall never rest till they 
rest in Thee, until they rest in heaven. " We do well, 
therefore, to center our truest and best affections on 
the eternal mansions of God, for in them is found 
that peace that surpasseth all understanding. So 
say the choirs of Angels and Archangels, the Cheru- 
bim and the Seraphim ; so declares the Virgin 
Queen, who, to use the language of the Psalmist, 
now stands at Christ's right hand in gilded clothing, 
surrounded with every variety of beauty ; so sing 
the triumphant hosts of white-robed martyrs and con- 
fessors, of doctors and virgins ; so shout the hun- 
dred and forty thousand, signed of all the tribes of 
Israel. To this testimony, and the countless souls of 
just men made perfect, let us add the awful ac- 
knowledgments of the damned. They know how 
bright and beautiful and happy heaven is. 

The world deceived them ; for, speaking to them 
as it now speaks to unworthy Christians and bad 
Catholics, it persuades you to eat, drink and be 
merry ; to satisfy every passion ; to live in the pres- 
ent, as being doubtful about the future ; in a word, 
it robbed them of their faith and hope in another and 
better life. "Deprive me," says a saintly soul, "of 
most things else, but leave me the assurance of a 
happier life beyond the tomb." 

Tell me, if you will, that there is no lasting habi- 
tation this side of the star-studded firmament ; tell 
me I must toil from early morn till late at night for 
meager compensation ; tell me I must suffer pains a 
thousand times greater than those of my enemies, 
the calumnies of pretended friends and false breth- 
ren ; tell me I must lose things dearer to me than 
life itself. But, oh ! tell me not there is no heaven 
for me. 

There is a heaven, and we feel it is for us, pro- 
viding, however, we lead lives worthy of our high 
vocation. Beware, my brethren, of the world's fatal 



130 Father Walsh 

maxims ; beware of worldly pleasures ; beware of 
human dignities. To most men they are stumbling- 
blocks in the way that leads to heaven, and may 
be very aptly compared to the fruit of those trees 
that are said to grow on the banks of the Dead Sea. 
Travellers tell us it is beautiful and tempting to 
the eye, but, once plucked and opened, it is found to 
contain nothing but ashes. So, lift up your hearts : 
Sursum corda. Center your affections on heaven ; 
live lives worthy of God. Thus will your years glide 
gently and pleasantly away, to be followed by never- 
ending peace, rest, and happiness in the bosom of 
your God— the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. 



PENTECOST SUNDAY, 



"And they were all filled with the Holy 
Ghost."— Acts ii, 4. 

Dearly Beloved Brethren : 

For the last three Sundays the Holy Gospel has 
fixed our minds on the memories of Pentecost. The 
fact is, in itself, significant, for it foreshadows in no 
uncertain manner the fulfilment of a most precious 
promise made by Christ to His Church ; namely, the 
promise to remain with her forever. 

> As this is a unique and glorious distinction, it is 
eminently fit, and in keeping with the solemnity of 
the feast, to recall briefly here and now the occasion 
and the very words of that promise. Gathering Hie 
timid, shrinking, half-hearted Apostles about Him, 
Christ said to them, among other things : ' ' Going, 
therefore, teach all nations, baptizing them, in the 
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
Ghost." " And behold, I am with you all days, even 
to the consummation of the world." How can this 
be ? was the question uppermost in the minds of His 



Sermons 131 

chosen twelve. How can this promise to abide with 
them and in them be fulfilled ? Was not their Master, 
according to His own saying, to lay down His life ? 
True, He was to take it up again. He was to rise 
again the third day ; but did not the Resurrection 
mean for them His farewell to earth, as well as His 
final triumph over sin and Satan ? 

Evidently, such was their thought, and fearing 
that perhaps they were to be left alone in the seem- 
ingly impossible task of converting the world, they 
began almost immediately to waver in their mission. 
Their hearts grew sad within them. They lost both 
courage and confidence. 

No one, not even the Apostles themselves, real- 
ized as keenly as did the Christ, the meaning and the 
danger in this mistrust in the Divine promise. In- 
deed, if permitted to thrive and to spread, it clearly 
meant the failure of the Gospel, and the consequent 
loss of countless souls. This, a good God, a merciful 
Master, would not permit. On the contrary, Jesus 
resolved, out of pitying love for mankind, to reanimate 
their courage, and to change them from cowards into 
conquerors. How He was to effect such a change, 
and thus save truth from the grave, is best told in 
His own words — the sweetest, tenderest words that 
ever fell from either human or Divine lips : ' ' You 
are, indeed, sorrowful now," said He to the little 
Apostolic band, "but your sorrow will be changed 
into joy. I am only going to prepare a place for you. 
I will not leave you orphans ; in fact, it is expedient 
for you that I go ; for if I go not, the Spirit of Truth 
will not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to 
you, and He will teach you all things whatsoever I 
have commanded you. He will comfort, guide, and 
strengthen you in the deepest sorrows and in the 
darkest trials." 

True to His word, the Saviour did send the prom- 
ised teacher and consoler ; for, ten days after His 



132 Father Walsh 

Ascension into heaven, or, on the fiftieth day after 
His Resurrection, the Holy Ghost, the Holy Spirit of 
God, the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity, came 
down upon them suddenly, and filled them with a holy 
enthusiasm and an invincible courage. They were 
now changed men, changed in that they might 
change or convert others. But the Paraclete came— 
not only to strengthen and change the Apostles ; He 
came to direct them in the truth. Therefore, He was 
the infallible exponent of Eternal Truth, and hence 
it follows logically, brethren, that they to whom He 
came on Whitsunday, in the form of tongues of fire, 
were henceforth to preach and to teach with infalli- 
ble authority, with an authority like unto that which 
the Master Himself had taught them. 

No one will, for no one can, honestly call this as- 
sertion into question. Neither will generous, intelli- 
gent souls, who love the truth, or who seek the light, 
deny that this same Spirit of God still inspires the 
teachings of that Church, which was founded upon 
the Apostles. For be it remembered that the prom- 
ise of a spiritual guide, or, what is the same thing, 
the promise of infallibility in matters of faith, was 
made not merely to one Church (and that is ours), 
but it was made to that one Church for all time. 

It was to have a lasting inheritance, and the dis- 
tinguishing mark of the true Church of God. It was 
to be not only an exclusive claim, but a proud pre- 
rogative as well ; a prerogative destined to be trans- 
mitted from generation to generation, without failure 
and without interruption, even to the consummation 
of the world. 

It is with reason, then, brethren, that we keep 
this feast day holy. Its recurrence, year after year, 
is sure to awaken in us feelings of joy, sentiments of 
deep gratitude to God, Who called us, in preference 
to so many others, to a place in "the household of 
faith.' ' 



Sermons 133 

Some of us, it may be, have never yet reflected 
long enough on this great grace to appreciate it ; 
nevertheless, it is one of the signs of predestination 
to have for Protectress and for Guide a Mother who 
can neither deceive nor be deceived. The Catholic 
Church is not tossed about by every wind of doctrine. 
Her teaching is the same, yesterday, to-day, and to- 
morrow ; her dogmas never change, because truth is 
eternal and infallible. Like the safe ship that she 
is, the barque of Peter rides serenely over the strong 
seas of doubt and error. 

Her enemies may ridicule her exclusive claim ; 
they may fear her growth ; they may hate her in- 
fluence in the world ; they may assail her fair name ; 
but to her has been committed the sacred charge of 
teaching and saving society, and so she is bound to 
triumph over every obstacle, and to conquer every 
opposition. 

Give her, therefore, dear brethren, the love of 
your hearts, the homage of your intellects, for she is 
both the custodian and the interpreter of God's word. 
God's word is the truth ; and the truth alone can 
fully satisfy the longings of the human heart and 
mind. In a word, guided by the Spirit of Truth, the 
Church will lead all her faithful and obedient chil- 
dren to a haven of true peace and union, to the 
heavenly haven where there is no uncertainty of 
faith, no more diversity of beliefs, no more dissension 
of doctrine. May the same Holy Spirit who on this 
day came down upon the Apostles, descend into our 
hearts on this feast of Pentecost ; may He renew 
again the face of the earth, and may all nations, see- 
ing the light of true faith, be brought into Christian 
brotherhood, and into that unity for which Jesus 
Christ lived, and labored, and prayed: "Come, 
Holy Ghost, fill the hearts of Thy faithful, and kindle 
in them the fire of Thy love. ,, 



134 Father Walsh 

PENTECOST. 

Some four centuries ago, before the Christian 
era, there lived in Greece a renowned philosopher, 
an extraordinary genius. By the light of reason, 
and by deep study and close observation, this man 
succeeded in founding a system of philosophy, or a 
species of doctrine, that became at once the wonder 
of his age, and promised lasting honor and glory to 
its author's name. 

That extraordinary genius was Socrates. New 
theories always command more or less attention, and 
they are always sure to find many friends and many 
foes. The theories and the principles of the Grecian 
philosopher found a goodly number of both, so that 
if the measure of his success was not as great as he 
had anticipated, it was not owing to any lack of in- 
terest on the part of his fellow-men in what he 
taught. 

Socrates labored zealously and fearlessly to dis- 
seminate his doctrine ; but, in doing so, he incurred 
the wrath of the public officials, whose conduct he 
censured, and whose corruption he unmasked. For 
this cause he was unjustly condemned to prison, and 
later to death. Shortly before his execution, he is 
said to have exhorted his friends to have courage, 
saying his work would survive him, and continue to 
command the attention and admiration of future 
generations. 

History does not tell us, brethren, just how 
much confidence this dying declaration infused into 
the hearts of his followers, but it does record the 
fact of its non-fulfillment ; for, to-day, the great 
philosopher and his doctrine may be said to share the 
same grave, both having ceased long since to have 
weight or worth in the guidance of the world or the 
affairs of men, and I shall tell you why. 

This doctrine came from a human intellect, and 



Sermons 135 

human intellect is fallible ; and, in a little time, other 
intellects as powerful, or more powerful than his 
own, arose to confute him, and his influence was 
overthrown. And what is true of the Sage of Athens 
is likewise true of all men. Such has been the 
history of the world since time began, a fact that 
goes to show that no man has ever yet succeeded 
in founding a lasting empire over the minds of his 
fellow-men. 

Yet, my brethren, there has been one such em- 
pire founded in this world — an empire easily recog- 
nized by its marvelous development, by the long list 
of its glories, by its millions of subjects, and by a 
dying promise made to it of a stability that shall 
outlast the world itself. That empire is the Catholic 
Church, to which we, by the grace of God, have the 
inestimable privilege of belonging. 

The founder of this empire was a sage of Galilee, 
a man who called Himself and was known to His 
followers as Jesus Christ. His doctrine was a rebuke 
to existing crimes, and ran counter to the opinions of 
His age, and to the creeds of His fellow-men— a fact 
that caused His disciples not a little anxiety, and 
which time and daily occurrences served only to in- 
crease. Suddenly, their worst fears were realized ; 
the new Gospel offends public pride, and public 
hatred hurries Jesus before a guilty tribunal to re- 
ceive the sentence of death. 

And the little band of disciples — what shall they 
do now, without a master, without a guide ? Shall 
they, left alone, be able to brave the many and 
trying difficulties natural to so vast an undertaking 
as the spiritual conquest of the world ? Was there 
ever an efficient army without a general ? History 
and experience teach us that there never was. It is 
related that the Macedonian army once wished to 
turn back in its march, because there was no percep- 
tible way to pass over a river. The general, Alex- 



136 Father Walsh 

ander the Great, hearing of the difficulty, pushed his 
way to the front, plunged into the water, and waded 
across the river. Encouraged by the example of 
their general, the whole army was soon on the other 
side of the stream. 

But in the little army of the Apostles ! They 
were about to lose their brave leader, and the very 
thought discouraged and disheartened them. Oh ! 
how dark and dreary everything seemed to them. It 
seemed as though the earth could never be a home to 
them again, once the loving heart of Jesus had gone 
silent in the cold hand of death. Yet, even when 
sorrow pressed the heaviest on their hearts, there 
was still left to them one faint glimmer of hope. 
Before being taken from them, Jesus made a sacred 
promise that kept alive the flickering flame of life in 
this world. It was this : Says Christ, speaking to 
His disciples, ' ' It is expedient for you that I go, for 
if I go not, the Paraclete will not come to you. And 
He, being come, will teach you all truth/ ' 

To-day, Pentecost Sunday, that promise was ful- 
filled, as we see in the Acts of the Apostles. ' ' And 
when the days of Pentecost were accomplished, they 
were all together in one place. And, suddenly, there 
came from heaven, as a mighty wind coming, and it 
filled the whole house where they were sitting. And 
there appeared to them parted tongues, as it were, 
of fire, and it sat upon every one of them, and they 
were all filled with the Holy Ghost/ ' The effect of 
this coming of the Holy Ghost, my brethren, was as 
marvelous as it was sudden. But a short time be- 
fore, the Apostles were weak and tired, discouraged 
and disheartened. They shut themselves up in a 
room for fear of the Jews ; the boldest had thrice 
denied his Master, and in the hour of trial all fled 
and left Him alone. 

Now that they had received the Holy Ghost, 
they were strong and courageous. See, then, these 



Sermons 137 

twelve fishermen, coming down from the supper 
room and going forth in the whole world to preach 
the Gospel to every creature, regardless of threats or 
obstacles. See Peter, standing in the very streets of 
Jerusalem, preaching the doctrine of Christ and of 
Christ crucified. See the precious fruit of the first 
Christian sermon— three thousand souls are won 
over to the cause of Christ. See James and John, 
Mark, Matthew, and the others, hurrying off to dis- 
tant lands, to announce the good news of salvation to 
those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of eter- 
nal death. See Paul, the great Apostle of the Gen- 
tiles, openly professing his faith in Christ in the 
very shadow of the palace of the Csesars themselves. 
See them all, eager to seal with their blood their be- 
lief in Jesus Christ. A tyrant sought the blood of 
the Infant Jesus, and tyrants, not less heartless, will 
seek the blood of the Infant Church. 

But let them plot the destruction of Christ's Em- 
pire. Their infamous efforts will be all in vain, for 
the blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians. It is 
hard to convince the world of this fact, but the war 
is still going on. The Church of Christ is, to-day, 
reviled, persecuted, calumniated, but she still stands 
as firm as the rock on which she was built, more 
than nineteen hundred years ago. Her enemies are 
passing away to their unknown graves, while she 
continues to preach and spread the Empire of Christ. 
We have no fears or doubts as to our ultimate victory. 
We cannot suffer defeat, for the God of battles has 
assured us that the Holy Ghost will abide with us 
forever, to enlighten, console, and strengthen us. 

And I would remind you, dearly beloved breth- 
ren, of this one thing, and it is the lesson I would 
have you learn from to-day's Gospel. The Church 
of Christ is made up of individual souls, and what 
we say of the Church may be said also of each indi- 
vidual soul. The wonders which the Holy Ghost 



138 Father Walsh 

wrought on the memorable day of His coming, He 
still works in all well-disposed souls. You, your- 
selves, my brethren, must have experienced often His 
presence within you, for "no man/' says St. Paul, 
"can say the Lord Jesus without the Holy Ghost/ ' 
To this Divine Spirit you must attribute every noble 
impulse, every praiseworthy act of your lives. He 
must be in the heart to give efficacy to the prayers we 
recite, to the communions we receive, to the confes- 
sions we make, to the works of charity we perform, 
and to the kind words we speak. 

If this be true, my brethren, and St. Paul assures 
us that it is, how earnestly ought we to pray that the 
Holy Spirit may never be taken from us ! How care- 
fully ought we to guard ourselves against every sin 
which can drive him away ! We want the gift of His 
wisdom, to see better the importance of things, spiri- 
tual and eternal ; we want the gift of His strength, to 
make us honest, temperate, and pure. In a word, we 
want the gift and grace of His sustenance to live 
holily and die happily. 



TRINITY SUNDAY. 

THE SIGN OF THE CROSS. 

"Going therefore and teach all nations, 
baptizing them, in the name of the Father, 
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." — 
Matt, xxviii, 19. 

There is within us, my brethren, an irresistible 
prompting to preserve and treasure up every object, 
even the most ordinary, that can bring back the 
memory of our dear dead, or revive the recollection 
of those days when life and happiness seemed to be 
one and the same thing. 

Because of its associations, we have a kind of 



Sermons 139 

veneration for the old homestead in which our eyes 
opened, and those of our parents closed, to the light 
of day. At home, in some hidden corner, there is a 
rosary, whose make and material are plain, even 
coarse. We prize it, nevertheless, because every 
one of its beads has been told over and over again, 
by a father or a mother whose lips are now stilled for- 
ever in the dust. It is the same with the old family 
Bible ; its pages have been turned and its contents 
perused by saintly souls gone before— a simple fact 
that gives to it a kind of sacredness, a charm, and 
an interest characteristic of no other volume. 

Not less strange is our attachment to the old 
parish church, to which we have for years wended 
our way, Sunday after Sunday, in sunshine and in 
storm, to implore God's mercy, or to thank His 
bounty for graces and gifts innumerable. 

My brethren, this laudable instinct of our nature 
is not destroyed by grace. It exists in the super- 
natural as well as in the natural order. Divine 
grace elevates all nature's faculties and ennobles all 
its promptings. Hence, it is not surprising that we, 
Christians, have always held dear the sacred stand- 
ard of the Cross, that touching symbol of our faith, 
hope, and charity. Be a cross ever so small or 
plain, it will, or should, awaken in grateful hearts 
the most sacred memories of our Blessed Redeemer. 

As often as we look up to it, it reminds us of sin 
and its consequences ; how our first parents trans- 
gressed the law, and how the Son of God, commis- 
erating our unhappy state, generously took upon 
Himself the work of our Redemption— a work that 
necessitated the shedding of His precious blood, which 
flowed from His five wounds and crimsoned the Cross 
of Calvary's height. 

And so the Cross became a light to the world, a 
wonderful sign, worthy of respect and admiration, 
because of its association with the trials and triumphs 



140 Father Walsh 

of our Blessed Lord. Looked upon at one time by 
the world as the emblem of shame and ignominy, the 
Cross has now become the badge of glory. It is worn 
on the necks of princesses for ornaments, and round 
those of simple villagers for consolation ; it is placed 
over the brows of monarchs and over the graves of 
beggars ; it is found in palaces and in cabins, on 
churches and in courts of justice. 

And let no one tell us, my brethren, that the 
Cross inspires only passive piety — a piety without life 
or action. The truth is, that the sacred symbol of 
our redemption has inspired a power and a courage 
beyond human comprehension. For, in virtue of 
what power, may we ask, did the Apostles— those 
twelve ingorant fishermen of Galilee— succeed in de- 
throning cruel, impious paganism, on whose ruins 
now stands the indestructible edifice of the Catholic 
Church ? With what weapon did they conquer the 
prejudice and ignorance of the carnal Jews ? Con- 
sult the annals of those days, and you will find that 
their only weapon was the Cross, which proved 
strong enough to bring the whole known world to the 
feet of Holy Church. 

No pen or tongue will ever tell all the various 
victories that have been won, in and by virtue of that 
sacred sign. Ecclesiastical writers have, however, 
preserved the account of two triumphs, as interesting 
as they are remarkable. The Emperor Constantine 
saw the Sign of the Cross in the heavens shortly 
before the battle of the Tiber, and on it he read the 
inscription: "In this sign thou shalt conquer." 
Immediately, the miraculous apparition gave him and 
his disheartened soldiers a new courage and strength. 
He marched against his enemy, Maxentius, whom 
he defeated after a long and bloody battle. Shortly 
after this event, Constantine, and a goodly portion of 
his soldiers, embraced the true faith. 

In the life of St. George, we read of a fact admir- 



Sermons 141 

ably calculated to stimulate our faith and confidence 
in the Sign of the Cross. St. George was summoned 
before the tyrant, Diocletian, who condemned him to 
drink a cup of deadly poison in testimony of the truth 
of his faith. All Antioch was out to witness the 
spectacle. The holy man took the fatal cup in his 
hand, made over it the Sign of the Cross, and drank 
the poison. To the surprise of the assembled mul- 
titude, St. George felt no bad effects from the 
draught, a result so unexpected that thousands of the 
spectators could not refrain exclaiming : ' ' Great is 
the God of the Christians/ ' My brethren, they might 
have added with the same enthusiasm : ' ' Great is 
the power of the Cross, for it works miracles, and 
has the promise of victory and of life everlasting/ ' 

For this reason, we should always make the 
sacred sign with the greatest devotion, remembering 
the mysteries it typifies and the events it commemo- 
rates. At a fair estimate, some three thousand per- 
sons have entered this church to-day, and every one 
of this number is supposed to have signed himself or 
herself with the Sign of the Cross. Would that we 
could admit such supposition. The truth is, however, 
that perhaps one-tenth of the three thousand wor- 
shippers at this altar to-day realized the importance, 
the efficacy, and the meaning of what they did when 
they said : ''In the name of the Father, and of the 
Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen." 



TRINITY SUNDAY. 



1 ' Baptizing them in the name of the Fa- 
ther, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." 

Dearly Beloved Brethren : 

In the Gospel of this Sunday the Inspired Writer 
brings before our minds the mystery of the Blessed 



142 Father Walsh 

Trinity, the fundamental dogma of our holy faith. It 
has always seemed to the world very like a mistake 
to build up a creed or a church upon such a foun- 
dation, for, according to its reasoning, man being 
a rational creature, must needs see and comprehend 
before believing. How plausible such an assertion 
is ! How extremely popular it is, especially in this 
materialistic nineteenth century, which imagines that 
the human mind should know and understand every- 
thing ! 

However, let not Christians and Catholics be 
overawed by assertions and arguments that are as 
shallow as they are deceptive. To unmask the 
world's sophistry, and at the same time indicate the 
teachings of faith, we have only to draw from human 
theories certain natural and necessary conclusions. 
In the first place, we must allow that both nature 
and creation are full of mysteries, full of truths, and 
facts, and phenomena which we do not and cannot 
understand. Do we deny and reject these truths and 
facts because we are unable to grasp their nature, and 
their reason, and their being ? Most assuredly not. 
Why, then, does the world refuse to accept faith in 
the Blessed Trinity ? 

Only the world knows why ; but it is evident to 
an honest mind that we must either accept all or re- 
ject all ; for a mystery is a mystery, whether it be in 
the natural or the supernatural order. In the second 
place, we do ourselves and God a fearful wrong when 
we deny and reject revealed truths, for by so doing 
we not only question God's right to teach us, but 
also blindly deprive ourselves of the opportunity and 
privilege of making the sincerest possible act of hu- 
mility and the sublimest profession of our faith in the 
Divine veracity. When we humbly admit, without 
understanding, unity in Trinity ; when we proclaim, 
as we do, in our creed : " I believe in God, the Father 
Almighty ; I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son Our 



Sermons 143 

Lord ; I believe in the Holy Ghost ; " we are simply 
accepting the words of Eternal Truth, and virtually 
acknowledging God's infinite, incomprehensible 
greatness, and man's well-nigh infinite littleness. 

The more we study the mysteries of religion, 
dearly beloved brethren, the better we realize how 
truly St. Paul spoke when he said : " Oh, the depth 
of the knowledge of God.'' We know next to noth- 
ing of God's nature and essence ; we have only 
the faultiest idea of omnipotence, omniscience, and 
eternity. How, then, can we, with small, finite in- 
tellects, fathom the Blessed Trinity. Such was once 
the ambition of St. Augustine, one of the most 
learned doctors of the Church ; but he failed in the 
attempt, and so must every like attempt end in fail- 
ure. Shall we conclude from the fact that man's 
mind is limited, that we must reject and deny that 
which we cannot fathom ? God forbid. For, if the 
world succeeds in taking from us belief in the 
Blessed Trinity, we give up with it the doctrine of 
God's fatherhood, and the thought of man's brother- 
hood. If we reject the fundamental dogma of Chris- 
tianity, we wipe out every evidence of our redemp- 
tion, every hope of our salvation. In a word, to 
deny that there is in God Three Divine Persons— the 
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, is to make of life and 
death an unspeakable evil and a crushing curse. 

On the other hand, belief in the doctrine of a 
Triune God blesses and sweetens human existence. 
It strengthens us to fight the good fight. It is a pledge 
of that peace which this world can neither give 
nor take from us. It was from faith in the Blessed 
Trinity that there came a spiritual power, in virtue 
of which the Church has thrived in all ages, and tri- 
umphed over her enemies in all countries. If we look 
carefully into the history of our faith, and into the 
philosophy of Religion, we shall find everywhere the 
power of the Three Divine Persons. See the Apos- 



144 Father Walsh 

ties, those twelve poor fisherman, going forth to win 
the world to truth and morality. They had neither 
money, nor learning, nor friends. No ; but they had 
an abiding trust in the adorable Trinity. Thus 
armed, they went to the farthest ends of the earth, 
preached the Gospel to every creature, and baptized 
their unnumbered converts as Christ had commanded 
them : ' ' In the name of the Father, and of the Son, 
and of the Holy Ghost/ ' The world could not help 
seeing these results. It could not help admitting the 
wonderful power and efficacy of the sacred sign of 
the Trinity, which has conquered so many prejudices, 
and has so often changed ignorance and hatred into 
admiration and love for Christianity. 

It is related in ecclesiastical history that the Em- 
peror Constantine the Great saw, on the eve of a 
doubtful battle, a mysterious sign in the heavens. 
It was the outlines of a cross. As the night wore on 
the sign became more distinct, and soon the soldiers 
were able to discern this hopeful inscription : 'In 
this sign thou shalt conquer.' ' And, true enough, 
Constantine and his army did conquer ; for, in a 
stubborn struggle the following day, Maxentius was 
defeated. This victory meant the overthrow of pa- 
ganism ; for, grateful to the Blessed Trinity, Father, 
Son, and Holy Ghost, Constantine and many of his 
men received baptism, and became the champions of 
the Infant Church. 

This miracle, and others like it, reveal the reason 
why Christians make such frequent use of the invo- 
cation : "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, 
and of the Holy Ghost/ ' With it we begin and end 
our prayers. In this Holy Name we begin the sacri- 
fice of the altar. The Church signs no psalm nor 
hymn without the conclusion, "Glory be to the 
Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost." No 
sacrament is administered save in the name of the 
Trinity. When we were born again by Baptism, it 



Sermons 145 

was " In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and 
of the Holy Ghost. " When we were strengthened by 
the grace of Confirmation, it was ' ' In the name of 
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." 
When our sins were forgiven in the Sacrament of 
Penance, it was ' ' In the name of the Father, and of 
the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. " It was in the power 
of the Blessed Trinity, when the young Levites, kneel- 
ing before the altar of God, received from episcopal 
hands the sublime power of the priesthood — it is "In 
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the 
Holy Ghost." When the nuptial tie is blessed, it is 
' ' In the name of the Father, ' ' etc. . . . 

Finally, when we feel the death angel hovering 
over us, religion comes to our bedside and says : 
Depart, Christian soul, from this world, in the 
name of God, the Father Almighty, Who created 
thee ; in the name of God, the Son, Who redeemed 
thee ; and in the name of the Holy Ghost, Who sanc- 
tified thee." So it is in every crisis of life, in every 
trial, in every temptation, in every sorrow, the good 
Christian, the pious Catholic, is sure to profess his 
faith in this Divine mystery. 

Let us learn, dearly beloved brethren, to love 
and reverence the Blessed Trinity, seeking in, and 
by, and through it, all hope, all strength, all courage. 
As often as we sign ourselves with the Three Divine 
Persons, let us do it thoughtfully and devoutly, re- 
membering that we are not only the images of the 
Trinity, but also the objects of the protection and 
love of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. 



THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

We are told in the Good Book, my brethren, that 
during the three years of His public life, our Blessed 
Lord went about doing good, speaking as no man 



146 Father Walsh 

ever spake, and performing miracles that could not 
help excite the admiration and love of those in whose 
presence they were wrought. For this reason, it 
was to be expected that a deep, strong, healthy love 
would spring up in the hearts of the Apostles. More- 
over, to them Christ had confided the secrets of the 
kingdom of heaven, telling them it was the will of the 
Eternal Father that He should return to His house of 
glory, and send in His stead the Holy Ghost, the Par- 
aclete, who would teach them all truth, and abide 
with them forever. 

But the Apostles seemed grieved. Seeing this, 
the Divine Master proceeded to point out an element 
of weakness, something of self-love in their affec- 
tion for Him. They loved, indeed, sweetly, but not 
friendly ; there was more excitement than sense in 
their feelings towards their Master ; they loved their 
Saviour, but only His visible, physical presence. 
They would prevent His going back to His Father, 
thus showing an opposition to the Divine Will. 

Now, my brethren, a love that opposes, a love 
that is not in harmony with the Divine Will, is not 
real love at all. We ofttimes say we love God ; but 
where is the proof ? Are our wills submissive to the 
decrees of the Most High ? Do we always admit the 
truth of the saying : ' ' Thy will be done on earth as it 
is in heaven"? We fear not; for in our dealings 
and relations with our Heavenly Father we easily 
mistake nature for grace, and the love of self for the 
love of God. How many of us are troubled by dis- 
appointment ? How many of us murmur because of 
affliction ? Remember, my brethren, love is calm 
and patient ; and if we truly loved God, we would 
pray, and then ieave the rest in the hands of the 
Lord, to do what He wills. 

Hence, the true test of a deep, strong, healthy 
love is conformity to the will of God ; and the ex- 
pression of that will is the commandment not only 



Sermons 147 

to love Him, but our neighbor as ourselves. There- 
fore, see if there be in your heart no monster of re- 
bellion against God's law, no neglect nor contempt 
of His counsels. See if you love your neighbor, 
neither injuring his reputation nor destroying his 
goods ; see if you honor your parents, to whom re- 
spect is due ; see if your thoughts are chaste, your 
words decent, and your bodies untainted with lewd- 
ness. Then, and only then, brethren, can you have 
that love which God absolutely requires. Wherever 
such a love exists, there the Eternal Father and 
Jesus Christ will be, for the Saviour repeatedly 
says, souls that are pure from sin are worthy of the 
love and peace which this world cannot give. Our 
Blessed Lord Himself says such a disciple is worthy 
of Him, and His Father will love, and they will come 
unto him, and make their abode with him. 



FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

"For I say to you: unless your justice 
abound more than the Scribes and Pharisees, 
you shall not enter into the kingdom of 
heaven. ,, — Matt, v, 20. 

Dearly Beloved Brethren : 

They alone are wise to the wisdom of the saints 
who love to listen to the Word of Eternal Life, and 
to show forth its power in their daily thoughts, and 
words, and works. 

We do not say that men and women refuse to 
listen to the preaching of the Gospel— which is the 
Word of Life, but we do claim that the vast majority 
of Christians fail to listen after the manner of the 
saints— that is, humbly and fruitfully. This is evi- 
dent from the many imperfect, and even sinful lives, 
so common nowadays in every grade of society. 



148 Father Walsh 

For not a few among us, God's Word has no reform- 
ing, no transforming power. This means that we 
are virtually hearers, and not doers of the Word ; a 
fact that robs us of all supernatural merit, and 
lowers us to the level of the Scribes and Pharisees of 
old. 

The Word of Life never made the Scribes and 
Pharisees true followers of Christ. It must be said 
that they explained learnedly and lucidly the laws 
and the prophets ; that they prated much ; that they 
fasted frequently, and gave tithes of all they pos- 
sessed to the poor. But all these things they did 
for outward show, for purely natural reasons, for 
earthly purposes, for human motives ; and in return 
they received, just as our Blessed Lord told them, 
a human reward, namely : the praise, the honor, 
the applause, the admiration and the imitation of 
men. 

My brethren, let us avoid the fatal mistake 
made by the Scribes and Pharisees. We were not 
created for the short-lived rewards of earth, but for 
the hope and happiness of heaven. Hence, if we 
would escape the rejection and condemnation of those 
sects, our justice, our virtue, our daily lives, and our 
daily selves, must be based on the solid foundations 
of humility, a sincere desire to think, and speak, and 
do these things that are pleasing and perfect in the 
sight of God. 

Let us live for this high and holy intention of 
serving the Master in all our words and works, as 
did the Apostles who first followed in the footsteps 
of Christ, and we need never doubt but that our 
justice will abound more than the Scribes and Phari- 
sees. 

Therefore will our future reward be greater than 
theirs. Christ shall not have preached to us in vain, 
neither shall we have received His grace in vain. 



Sermons 149 



SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

The miracles wrought by our Blessed Lord dur- 
ing His public life have ever held, my brethren, a 
prominent place in dogma, controversy and history. 

From the earliest days of Christianity down to 
the present time, they have been cited and accepted 
as the best and truest proofs of the Divine nature 
and mission of Him who performed them. Who, in- 
deed, but a divine agent could do what Christ did ? 
What but a heavenly power could give back sight to 
the blind, hearing to the deaf, speech to the dumb, 
and life to the dead ? 

But, strong as they are as proofs of Christ's 
Divinity, miracles are, furthermore, my brethren, 
unmistakable signs of His unspeakable love, and 
tokens of His tender compassion for us mortals. 
This is a fact, as true as it is touching, and one, too, 
that should be cherished in memory. Nowadays, we 
are too apt to forget that miracles appeal quite as 
forcibly to our hearts as to our heads. 

The resurrection of Lazarus was an act of love ; 
that of the widow's only son, a work of compassion. 
The miraculous cure of the helpless cripple, who for 
eight and thirty years sought relief from suffer- 
ing at the pool of Bethsaida, was prompted by ten- 
derness and sympathy. That feeling and love for 
humanity were the mainsprings of all God's won- 
drous works, is clearly evident from a careful study 
of them. In the performance of His miracles, Our 
Blessed Lord did not intend merely a display of His 
omnipotent power, but He sought in a special manner 
to impress upon the witnesses of them the thought 
of love Divine. We see this clearly in all that He 
did. If, for instance, He said in the beginning, "Let 
there be light," He consulted not His own needs, 
for He was the "light invisible," but He acted for 
our greater convenience and comfort. Again, when 



ISO Father Walsh 

He said : " Let us make man to our image and like- 
ness,' ' He sought, not precisely His own glory, for 
the beasts of the field may and do glorify Him ; but 
He had in prospect our future felicity, as is evident 
from the fact that He breathed into us rational and 
immortal souls, capable of loving and enjoying Him 
forever. 

Let any member of the human race reflect on 
this, and say whether he has, or has not, reason to 
adore and thank not only the power, but the good- 
ness of God, Who has done such great things for us. 
True it is, that Christ has loved us with an eternal 
love ; for, having called us into existence, He did not 
abandon us to our own weakness. No, He loves us 
now as ever ; or, to use the thought of St. Mark in 
to-day's Gospel, "He still has compassion on the 
multitude. Do any of us, my brethren, doubt this 
assertion ? What do faith and individual experience 
teach us ? They teach us this— that when we came 
into this world we were children of wrath ; that we 
were destined to everlasting misery, had not God, 
out of pure compassion, provided sure and easy 
means for the attainment of our last end. We know 
what these means are ; they are the sacraments, the 
living channels of grace. Here, beneath the shadow 
of the Cross, we have been washed from the stain of 
original sin, taught to love righteousness and hate 
iniquity. We have been brought up in such close 
communion with the Creator, that we must needs 
exclaim with the Inspired Writer : ' ' He has lifted 
up the beggar to set him among princes, and to 
inherit a throne of glory." 

Nor did God's love, happily for us, cease at the 
baptismal font ; for, had such been the case, how 
faint had been our hope of attaining the end for 
which we were made. Christ Our Lord foresaw the 
danger. The Sacred Heart was touched at the 
thought of such a loss. It had compassion on the 



Sermons 151 

multitudes, who would have been inevitably doomed 
to live in misery and die in despair. A remedy had 
to be devised. Divine Love knows no barriers, knows 
no obstacles. 

The danger was averted by instituting the sacra- 
ments of Penance and Holy Eucharist. The former 
would break the repentant sinner's chains ; the latter 
would strengthen him to fight courageously the good 
fight and to keep the faith. We have all felt, my 
brethren, the efficacious workings of grace in our 
souls ; we have been made happy by the message of 
sin forgiven ; we have been strengthened by the 
Bread of Angels ; but have these evidences of God's 
goodness, compassion, and love for us worked in 
return feelings of love for Him ? In other words, 
are we grateful ? 

Let us look at the record of our lives, and see for 
ourselves. We know a tree by its fruits. We know 
a grateful Christian by his actions. The chief and 
essential test of our gratitude and love for God is a 
faithful observance of the commandments. ' ' If any 
man love Me," says Christ, " He will keep My com- 
mandments." How many of us are taking up daily, 
and carrying with generous hearts, the sweet yoke 
and light burden of the Saviour's load ? How many of 
us, every day and every night, are offering the homage 
of our love to other gods than to Him who created, 
redeemed and sanctified us ? It is not for us to answer 
these questions; but remember, my brethren, that all 
those who are giving themselves over to the desires of 
the world, the flesh, and the devil, have deserted the 
standard of Christ, to live in the thankless service 
of Satan, who will lead them down to perdition. 

These words may be treated as a familiar refrain. 
Sinners may sneer at them as at old platitudes. Be 
it so. We shall console ourselves with the thought 
that old platitudes are ofttimes old truths, and that 
sinners, like fools, are wise only in their own con- 



152 Father Walsh 

ceits. As for you, my brethren, be wise in the per- 
formance of your duty towards God, your neighbor, 
and yourself. 

First, and above all, be grateful to the Most High 
for His mercies. Ask yourselves, from time to time, 
this question, which was so constantly on the lips of 
Holy David : "What shall I render to the Lord for 
all that He has rendered unto me ?" David was most 
anxious to testify his gratitude to God, and for this 
purpose he thought of erecting a spacious temple, 
in the construction of which he was to use the most 
skilled labor and the most costly material. How- 
ever, God did not permit him to realize his hopes. 
He accepted David's pious intentions for the work, 
which He gave to another to do. It may encourage 
us, my brethren, in the performance of our duty 
towards God, to know that that which was refused to 
a great king is graciously accorded to you and to me. 

Were we but grateful, we would refrain from sin, 
and thus make our bodies — those perishable habita- 
tions of dust— fit dwelling-places, beautiful temples 
of the Holy Ghost. Were we but grateful, we would 
eradicate every vice from our souls, in order that 
they might become shining lights, perfect images of 
Him Who made them. In a word, were we but grate- 
ful, we would, at all times and in all places, see God's 
honor and glory, and thereby merit more abundance 
of love and compassion both in this world and in the 
next. 

ELEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

SECOND COMMANDMENT. 

"And He spoke right."— Mark vii, 35. 

Dearly Beloved Brethren : 

There are circumstances connected with this day 
that make it one of the most touching of gospel nar- 



Sermons 153 

ratives. Search the Holy Book, if you will ; read 
therein the long list of ills to which human kind is 
subject. You will find, I think, but few trials at all 
comparable to the affliction of being both deaf and 
dumb. What, in fact, could be more touching than 
to see a man in the midst of men, and yet separated 
from them, cut off from their joys, their pleasures 
and their pursuits, by a barrier never to be crossed ? 

What could be sadder than to have thoughts sur- 
ging in the brain and round the heart, and yet be 
denied the happier privilege of pouring them into 
sympathetic ears ? Truly, such a life seems not un- 
like a failure, for it tells us of days and of years made 
cheerless by the absence of every sound calculated 
to make our existence here below both pleasant and. 
profitable. 

Naturally, then, our sympathy goes out to the 
unfortunate subject of this day's Gospel. We feel 
for him, and for those similarly afflicted, and gladljr 
would we, if we could, return to all deaf-mutes 
the world over, the of ttimes unappreciated faculties 
of hearing and of speech. But, my brethren, our 
sympathy and charity may easily reach beyond the 
narrow limits of human skill and human power. 
There are times when we are powerless to help others. 
The power of miracles resides in God. It is essen- 
tially a Divine prerogative. Times when helpless 
humanity, weighed down by sorrows and sufferings, 
must look up to God for needed assistance, for He 
alone can give back life to the dead, sight to the blind, 
hearing to the deaf, and speech to the dumb. 

No people recognized this fact better or quicker 
than did the Jews of old ; and hence it was that they 
brought to our Blessed Lord one that was deaf and 
dumb, beseeching Him to lay His hand upon him. 
And Jesus took the poor afflicted creature " aside 
from the multitude, put His sacred fingers into his 
ears, and, spitting, touched His tongue. Then look- 



154 Father Walsh 

ing up to heaven, He groaned and said : " Ephpheta ;" 
that is, "Be opened/ ' And immediately his ears 
were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed 
and he spoke right.' ' 

These latter words, dearly beloved brethren, are 
significant. They embody a lesson of practical im- 
portance to every Christian man and woman. Briefly 
stated, the lesson is this : Christ's love for humanity 
will never and can never die. He still lives, and 
speaks, and acts through His Church, to whom He 
said in the long ago : " As the Father hath sent Me, 
so I send you. " Ever faithful to this commission, the 
Catholic Church takes aside unregenerated man. She 
leads apart to the baptismal font those who are spiri- 
tually deaf and dumb. There, in the name of and by 
the ministry of His priesthood, she touches their ears 
and their tongues, saying: " Ephpheta ;' ' that is, 
"Be opened.' ' 

We cannot believe, my brethren, that in opening 
the ears and unloosing the tongues of His children, 
God had, or could have had, any other object in 
view "than to make us hear right and speak right." 
To say or think otherwise were to contradict our 
natural instincts, as well as certain facts founded 
on daily observation. Take, for instance, a child ; 
naturally, it loves to hear of virtue, of heaven, and 
of God, while one of the first names its little lips 
learn to lisp is the name of God in the ' ' Our 
Father." The baptized child, therefore, "hears 
right and speaks right." 

But, alas ! we must anticipate a change in the 
child, for it is the one proud boast of time that it 
changes everyone ; yes, and it might add, changes, 
in many instances, many of us for the worse. This 
is certainly true of the majority of children. For no 
sooner have they attained the years of manhood or 
womanhood, than they betray a most deplorable per- 
version of the faculties of hearing and speech. In 



Sermons 155 

the language of Holy Writ, they have ears, but they 
hear not ; they have tongues, but they speak not. 
Do any of us need to be convinced of the truth of 
this saying ? If so, let them go into our streets at 
any hour of the day ; let them go into our work- 
shops ; let them go into many of our stores, and into 
many of our supposed Christian homes, and they will 
find multitudes of Catholics engaged in prostituting 
their noble, heaven-born faculty of speech, or lending 
their ears to incarnate devils, just as if their ears 
were naturally cesspools for moral filth and dirt. 

True, my brethren, it may require time to bring 
about such a sad change in the child. The process 
of transformation is slow, because Satan's methods 
are cunning. His first step is to put vulgar words 
and expressions into youthful mouths. Then the 
next is easy ; vulgarity, being the grave of Christian 
modesty, soon undermines, and finally sweeps away 
altogether the strong barriers of decency and purity. 

And woe to those who help on the spiritual ruin 
of another by indulging in vile words or unchaste 
conversation ! It were better had they never been 
born, for they are guilty of a most atrocious crime, 
which, called by its proper name, is murder — spiri- 
tual murder. Many have been lost because they 
failed to appreciate the obligations they were under 
to hear right and speak right. 

If we hope to enter into the kingdom of heaven, 
let us be careful, brethren, that we use our faculties 
of hearing and of speech for the greater glory of 
God, for the edification of our neighbor, and for our 
own individual sanctification. Amen. 



THIRTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

Dearly Beloved Brethren : 

To-day's Gospel suggests to the mind two 
thoughts worthy of deepest reflection : the one is the 



156 Father Walsh 

thought of God's power and love ; the other, that of 
man's indifference and ingratitude. 

It would seem very like a waste of time and 
words to point out the evidences of God's almighty 
power ; for everything that He has ever made or 
done bears the impress of an infinite hand as well as 
the stamp of an infinite intelligence. This is a fact 
so evident, that to be convinced of its truth we have 
only to read the first chapter in the book of creation, 
and to take one look into nature's noble face. What 
strange wonders lie all around us ! What unrivalled 
beauty strikes the eye, whether we look up or down, 
to the right or to the left ! Truth compels us to con- 
fess that every feature of this vast universe tells the 
story of God's omnipotence, and of His everlasting 
love for the works of His hands. 

Hence, we are not surprised, brethren, to hear 
the Inspired Writer declare that all nature sings 
together the praises of the Most High. If, then, 
there be (and there is) one discordant note in the 
harmony that goes up to heaven from dawn unto 
darkness and from darkness to dawn, it is the failure 
of man to remember, at all times, and to recognize in 
all places, the creature's claim to His love and grati- 
tude. And what has been the result of such a 
failure ? What the consequences of our disloyalty 
and disobedience to our Maker ? Simply this : man 
became practically a blot upon creation, and our 
souls became tainted with the loathsome malady of 
sin, the foulness of which is forcibly pictured in this 
Sunday's Gospel by the disease known to science and 
to medicine as leprosy. 

Leprosy was and is repulsive in the extreme. As 
the world turns away in horror and disgust from the 
poor leper, so do the angels in heaven shrink from 
the sin-stained soul. But, happily for us, dearly be- 
loved in Christ, God's thoughts and feelings are not 
our thoughts and feelings. We may be, and oft- 



Sermons 157 

times are, wanting in sympathy for the weak and the 
wretched, but to the Saviour's Sacred Heart, neither 
human misery nor human frailty has ever appealed 
in vain. The love of our Heavenly Father is always 
busy lifting up the fallen, healing the sick, raising 
to the life of grace those who are spiritually dead. 
And no one realized the fact better than the lepers 
of whom mention is made in this Sunday's Gospel ; 
for, in answer to their cry, "Jesus, Master, have 
mercy on us," our Blessed Lord kindly and gently 
said : ' ' Go, show yourselves to the priests. ' ' From 
that moment they were healed. Health and happi- 
ness were restored to suffering exiles, and new 
hopes were quickly born in hearts once heavy with 
despair. 

In this instance, God manifested His power and 
His love. The picture would be an ideal one, dearly 
beloved brethren, were it not for one unfortunate 
circumstance. The Gospel tells us that only one of 
the ten who were restored to health and happiness 
came back to thank his benefactor. This is the old 
story of indifference and ingratitude. While nature 
rebels against such treatment of a friend, let us be 
slow to condemn the nine ungrateful lepers, re- 
membering that he who is without fault should cast 
the first stone. 

God has done as much— yes, He has done infin- 
itely more, for you and for me, dearly beloved breth- 
ren, for He has more than once healed our souls of 
the leprosy of sin. He has more than once given 
back to us the white robe of sanctifying grace, and 
has made us, again and again, worthy of com- 
panionship with angels and saints. But have we 
shown our gratitude ? Have we, like Mary Magdalen, 
gone and sinned no more, and by our saintly lives 
rejoiced the loving Heart of our Redeemer ? Have 
the impure, when God forgave them, given up the 
darkness and the solitude they loved so well ? Has 



158 Father Walsh 

the drunkard, when God forgave His sin, renounced 
his vile associations, and fled from the places where 
his manhood has been often disgraced, and the im- 
age of his God effaced from his soul ? Oh, brethren, 
let us show our gratefulness by willingly giving up 
our sins. This is the test, and the only test, that we 
are truly loving Him Who loved us with an eternal 
love. 

FOURTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

Dearly Beloved Brethren : 

There are men in this world of ours who seem- 
ingly delight in distorting the Word of God— in rob- 
bing Holy Scripture of its true meaning. They are 
guilty of such a wrong who misinterpret, for 
instance, this Sunday's Gospel into an excuse for 
idleness and indolence, claiming that Christ has 
forbidden us to take thought for the morrow, or to 
provide for the wants of the future. 

That such a doctrine is false is too clear to admit 
of argument ; for, if it means anything, such a teach- 
ing points to the absurd conclusion that God — an All- 
wise Creator — has endowed man with mind and body, 
with marvelous faculties and members, and yet has 
invited them, without any effort, without any atten- 
tion, on their part, to a share of the gocd things of 
the world— to bed and board, and something more. 
My brethren, we do not believe in such a theory. It 
is against reason as well as religion. We will always 
have a supreme contempt for the powerful idler, for 
the man who might, but will not work, and use his 
God-given powers. In a word, we believe with St. 
Paul, ' ' that if a man shall not work, neither shall he 
eat. ,, 

But while guarding the Gospel against misin- 
terpretation, let us not permit it to be robbed of all- 
meaning. God meant, it is true, that we should all 



Sermons 159 

do our share of the world's work. He meant that 
we should all provide sufficiently for the wants of the 
future. But He did not mean that we should live 
and labor for earth alone. He did not mean that we 
should try to do the impossible : to love Him and 
Mammon— to serve two masters. He did not mean 
that we jostle and trample upon one another, in the 
mad, senseless greed for gold and temporal success. 
No ; the Lord wished us to use moderation in all 
things, to be charitable and just in our dealings with 
our neighbor. 

But the world laughs at rules and restrictions, 
and urges its votaries in the vulgar scramble, as 
though time were everything, and eternity nothing ; 
as though Mammon were the only reality, and God 
the only myth. Will the world achieve ultimate suc- 
cess ? We think not, brethren, for the spiritual is 
above the temporal, and overanxiety for earthly inter- 
est is sure to meet with disappointment. The vic- 
tory is not to the strong ; and sooner or later we will 
be emphatically convinced of the fact that it is far 
wiser, far more reasonable, far more blessed, to seek 
first the kingdom of God and His justice. Let us 
take this lesson to heart, brethren ; let us not be over- 
solicitous. Let us, the children of light, be wiser 
than the children of this generation. Let us, like 
heirs of a heavenly inheritance, like children of high 
birth and holy destiny, seek first the kingdom of God 
and His justice, and by and by the Lord will give 
unto us all other things necessary. 



ASSUMPTION. 



The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into 
heaven brings to mind not only the name of the 
greatest of mothers, but also the thought of that 
Mother's greatest and grandest triumph. If Mary's 



160 Father Walsh 

life was clouded from childhood to old age by incom- 
parable sufferings and sorrows, there is, in the 
thought of her ultimate triumph over death and the 
grave, abundant reason why we should rejoice and 
be glad, why we should send up to heaven on this 
day prayer, and praise, and thanksgiving, for a 
miracle without a parallel in the annals of humanity. 
When we die, brethren, our bodies must pay the 
penalty of sin and return to dust. 

Mary was sinless ; her innocence, her holiness, 
lifted her above this world. Love of God had made 
her an exception to the common laws of nature. 
Dead, He would exempt her from another law that 
meant the complete destruction of the body. As 
Christ Himself triumphed over the decay of death, 
so would He, in justice to Himself, and in gratitude 
to His mother, rescue her body from the corruption of 
the tomb. To the Master of Life, to the Maker of 
Worlds, the means to that end were at hand. He 
robbed the tomb of its victim. Mary was soon 
assumed into heaven amid the joyful acclamations of 
the glorified and the redeemed, who proclaimed her 
Queen of Heaven, Rose of Sharon, Lily of Israel. 

Dear brethren, from the miracle of the Assump- 
tion, and from the great things done for Mary, let us 
learn to model our lives upon hers, and be assumed, 
like her, into everlasting happiness. We do not 
expect that this privilege will be ours so soon after 
death, as in the case of the Blessed Mother. In sub- 
mission to a higher power than ourselves, we shall 
await the trumpet call that shall summon us to judg- 
ment. 

If we pass safely through that ordeal, and be 
able to give an account of our stewardship here 
below, then we shall rejoice and be glad, for our 
resurrection will mean an assumption into heaven at 
last. 



Sermons 161 

FIFTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 
"Weep not." -Luke vii, 13. 

From this Sunday's Gospel we learn, dearly 
beloved brethren, that it is most worthy of God Him- 
self to sympathize with those in trouble, and to wipe 
away, when we can, the tears of one another. 

Since the commission of the first sin this world 
has been full of sorrow. Every day brings to light 
new trials, and every hour of the night and day as 
well, finds some members of the human family sink- 
ing under the weight of affliction. At times, dear 
brethren, we have all been forced to recognize this 
fact ; for we ourselves have, perhaps more than 
once, passed through the fire of affliction and felt 
the agony of tears. But that which crushed us most 
was, without doubt, the thought of man's inhumanity 
to man ; it was the indifference, the selfishness, the 
coldness of the world towards us in the hour of trial. 

In all our sufferings, our aching and our breaking 
hearts found little sympathy and less love. This ab- 
sence of fraternal charity, this lack of kindly feeling, 
has added untold misery to the dark, sad side of life, 
and is responsible for the saying : ' ' One-half of the 
world knows not how the other half is living. ' ' Our 
Blessed Lord was the first to point out and remedy 
this evil. He began and ended His earthly mission 
by inculcating everywhere the lesson of love, and by 
teaching the classes as well as the masses of the 
people : 

"To share one another's sorrow, 
And to bring, when in our power, 
The coming morrow." 

In fact, so anxious was He to sow and strengthen 
among men the spirit and the practice of mutual 
helpfulness, that He commanded His followers of all 
times and climes " to bear one another's burdens." 



162 Father Walsh 

One would think, dearly beloved brethren, that 
the words of Christ ought to be sufficient to open 
up within us the springs of sympathy, and to draw 
us into clear touch with the great world around 
us. But, no ; something more than teaching by 
mere word of mouth was necessary, at least so our 
Blessed Saviour thought ; for He always adds prac- 
tice to theory, and illustration to teaching ; in a word, 
He gave us an example. What a type of true ten- 
derness Jesus was when He received the centurion 
who came to ask Him for his son's restoration to 
health ! To the prayer of that grief-stricken father 
Christ lends a gracious ear, comforts him with kind, 
affectionate hope, and dismisses him with that most 
gladsome of all parting salutations : ' ' Go, thy son 
liveth." What a true, noble, generous exemplar of 
charity the Son of Man was, as He stood beside the 
grave of Lazarus, consoling the sorrowing sisters, 
Mary and Martha. Where shall we find a higher 
ideal of fraternal feeling and sympathy than the 
Christ of this Sunday's Gospel ? Hear how gently 
He says to the widowed mother of Nairn : ' Weep 
not." See how quickly He turns her tears into 
smiles, by giving her back her son who was dead. 

Dearly beloved brethren, we cannot, it is true, 
raise the dead to life ; but we can wipe away some of 
the tears caused by sickness, and suffering, and 
death. Have we frequently done so ? The vast 
majority of us must answer, No ; we have not. And, 
I ask you, Why not ? Oh ! the reason is, because 
the example and the teaching of Christ have left 
little impression upon our minds and hearts. We 
have no charity ; we do not love one another ; we are 
selfish. We do not, of course, imply that there are no 
kindly natures among us. There are, always have 
been, and always will be, in every parish, some few 
who have learned the lesson of love from the lips of 
their Master. But they are few, and in their pres- 



Sermons 163 

ence, we deem it an honor to stand uncovered. They 
are God's and nature's noblemen and women. 



FIFTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

SCHOOLS. 

" Weep not."— Luke vii, 13. 

The Fathers of the Church tell us, dearly beloved 
brethren, that many of the sayings and scenes of In- 
spiration have a broader and deeper meaning than 
ofttimes appear on the surface. 

Thus, when our Blessed Lord speaks of Jeru- 
salem, He does not necessarily mean to direct atten- 
tion to the ancient city of that name, a city whose 
grandeur was once the wonder of the world, and 
whose form was once the glory of the Jewish nation. 
No ; He would rather refer to the Heavenly Jeru- 
salem, to the Eternal City of God, whose greatness, 
grandeur and glory surpass all understanding. 
Again, when the Holy Gospel pictures, as it did a 
few Sundays ago, the pitiable state of the wretched 
victims of leprosy, it was not precisely the purpose 
of the Inspired Writer to excite our sympathy by re- 
minding us of the fact that the unfortunate leper was 
exiled from home and friends, and doomed to a most 
horrible death. No ; the intention was to impress 
upon our minds the thought that leprosy is a figure 
of sin, and that the wages of sin are death and ever- 
lasting separation from God. 

Applying what we have just said to this Sunday's 
Gospel, we may conclude, dearly beloved brethren, 
that the scene pictured to-day by St. Luke has not 
only a literal sense, but also a mystical, spiritual 
meaning — a meaning full of interest and instruction 
for us of the present hour. 

Ever since the world's Good Friday evening,. 



164 Father Walsh 

ever since the memorable tragedy of Calvary, the 
Church of the Living God has been deprived of the 
visible presence of her Spouse— Jesus Christ. For 
over nineteen hundred years she has lived a holy 
widowhood, and like the widowed mother of Nairn, 
she has had to struggle against mighty trials and 
sorrows. Not the least among the sorrows of the 
Catholic Church has been the persistent effort made 
by the powers of darkness to rob her of the rev- 
erence, loyalty, and filial love of humanity— that child 
whom Jesus ransomed in His own precious blood, and 
whom He left to her to be trained and instructed in 
the ways of righteousness and morality. ' ' Go ye, 
therefore," says the Saviour, " and teach all nations ; 
teach them to observe whatsoever I have commanded 
you." 

If these words mean anything, they mean that 
all nations of the earth are held conscientiously to 
hear the voice of religion ; if they mean anything, 
they mean that the Church alone not only has the 
right, but also the sacred duty, of pointing out to 
men the ways and means of holy living, and to 
heaven. And yet, brethren, as we know, the Church 
is subjected, nowadays, to the humiliation of being 
treated with contempt. She must needs listen to the 
powers of darkness, boasting that the world is spiri- 
tually dead, and that the youth of to-day— who will 
be the men and women of the future— are destined 
to be generations of skeptics and infidels, rejecting 
the first principles of Christianity, and even calling 
into question the existence of God. Satan would de- 
stroy, if he could, the kingdom of truth. He would 
turn creation against its Creator. More than once 
has the attempt been made, but thus far the cause of 
Christ has triumphed. In the beginning of Chris- 
tianity, when the Church was young, twelve millions 
of martyrs gave their lives as a testimony to truth 
and virtue. The powers of darkness withdrew from 



Sermons 165 

the struggle, dismayed, but not conquered. Five 
centuries later, they came back to the field of battle, 
and, under the guise of heresy, tried again to draw 
humanity from Christ and His Church, but a second 
time the enemy of God and man was hurled back by 
the learning and eloquence of the Augustines, the 
Basils, the Jeromes, the Chrysostoms, and other holy 
doctors. 

But this second defeat did not mean destruction. 
The powers of darkness were, indeed, discomfited, 
but they were not annihilated, and the proof lies in 
the fact that, in these our own times, we see them 
returning to the attack, more determined than ever. 
Their courage finds a stimulus in the belief that they 
have discovered at last a new and fatal weapon of 
warfare — an ingenious means for destroying religion 
and revelation. It means that that warfare is the 
exclusion of religious thought from the class-room. 
Their battle-cry is : Teach no religion to the young. ' ' 
Just think of it, brethren, teach our little ones 
nothing of God, nothing of the creation, nothing of 
their redemption, nothing of their sanctification, 
nothing of judgment, nothing of that Father Who is 
in heaven. What a cunning device ! But, oh ! what 
wickedness, what impiety ! 

The Church, on the other hand, insists that relig- 
ious instruction shall go hand in hand with secular 
science ; for she knows, and every honest mind real- 
izes, that there can be no true and complete develop- 
ment of the spiritual man without the supernatural. 
We believe that religion is absolutely necessary ; to 
elevate a people, to protect society, and to satisfy the 
relations and responsibilities existing between men. 
Now, how and where are our children to be in- 
structed in the supernatural ? How and where are 
they to be taught the way to honor, to happiness, 
and to heaven ? Surely they cannot obtain this 
knowledge in our system of non-sectarian schools ; 



166 Father Walsh 

for it is not in the province of the State or its em- 
ployes to inculcate religion. This privilege, this 
right, this duty, belongs, as we have said, to the 
Church, and is exercised only in the excellent institu- 
tions of learning founded and fostered by her. 

To-day we plead for the school. Its success 
ought to be an appeal to every father and mother. 
Its teachers are intelligent and zealous, who have 
consecrated their lives to the Christ-like work of 
teaching many the way of justice. We can promise 
parents who entrust their little ones to the care and 
influence of the good Sisters, their children will be a 
credit and a joy to them. No school or academy can 
promise more than this. 

Now, I can say, in all sincerity, to Catholic 
fathers and mothers, if you give your children the 
advantages and blessed benefits of a Christian edu- 
cation, you will never be brought to the anguish of 
believing that any child of yours is spiritually dead, 
and dead through your own fault, and through your 
own criminal negligence. When the time comes, as 
it may come in the natural course of events, for par- 
ents to look down into the dead face of a son or a 
daughter, may they be able to say : ' ' The soul at 
least is happy and safe in the arms of God." May 
they be able to look up to heaven, to the God of all 
consolation, and may they hear from the Divine lips 
the tender, hopeful words of to-day's Gospel : "Weep 
not." 



FEAST OF THE SEVEN DOLORS. 

' ' Forget not the sorrows of thy Mother. ' ' 

To-day, Holy Church celebrates the feast of the 
Seven Dolors of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This 
simple announcement cannot help but awaken in 
grateful hearts tender memories of the past. It can- 



Sermons 167 

not fail to turn our thoughts to days and nights of 
unselfish suffering. It speaks to us of the Queen of 
Martyrs and draws us to the side of affliction. Hence, 
it is only natural to expect that the children of the 
Church will ever hold this feast in loving remem- 
brance, and that the children of Mary the world 
over, filled with feelings of gratitude and love, will 
on this day gather round her altars, to sing her 
praises, and to proclaim anew that they have not for- 
gotten the sorrows of their Mother. 

The sacred record tell us, brethren, the number 
of Mary's sorrows. Had it been at all possible, some 
book or pen had long since made known to us their 
immensity and their intensity. But only from the 
Book of Life, only from the lips of God Himself, 
"shall we ever know, from the settlings (?) above 
the surface, the depth of the vein below. ' ' Each of 
the Virgin's dolors brought to her maternal heart a 
grief vaster and deeper than an ocean. So say the 
saints, who have made a study of suffering, and who, 
consequently, know whereof they speak. 

A little reflection will help us, brethren, to grasp 
the reason for such a belief. Let him who will, try to 
fathom, for instance, Mary's first sorrow — the Pres- 
entation of the Child Jesus in the temple. Remem- 
ber the maiden of Nazareth, as she comes to Jeru- 
salem with a glad heart, conscious of only the one 
fact, namely, that she is thus not only submitting to 
the exactions of an ancient Jewish custom, but also 
obeying a stern precept of the Levitical law, which 
commanded every Jewish mother to bring before 
the altar of the Lord, and to consecrate to God, her 
first-born male child. As the Virgin Mother enters 
the temple to fulfil this duty, angels might have 
heard her repeat, over and over again, the hopeful 
words of the ' ' Magnificat " : My soul doth magnify 
the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God, my 
Saviour. ' ' There was happiness in her every feature, 



168 Father Walsh 

joy in her every step. Her youthful mind had never 
fully weighed the painful prophecy of Isaias, fore- 
telling the passion and the cruel crucifixion of the 
Child she was then carrying in her arms. Like other 
mothers, Mary had full faith in the future, and 
across the path that lay before her babe, she saw, or 
seemed to see, far more sunshine than shadow. As 
she looked down into the face of the Infant Christ, 
she was grateful to God, Who had done such great 
things to her, and freely acknowledged that all her 
prayers had been answered at last, and all her hopes 
realized. 

But, alas, for human calculations ! Alas, for 
human happiness ! Their sole purpose of ttimes 
seems to be to deceive us, and to pave the way for 
painful surprises. This, at least, was the lesson that 
our Blessed Mother was to be taught in the temple on 
the day of the Presentation. Little did she expect 
to hear, then and there, and from priestly lips, an 
announcement that could not but turn the whole cur- 
rent of her life, and change the whole tenor of her 
thoughts. But so it was. Moved by the spirit of 
God, Venerable Simeon said to Mary : ' ' Behold, this 
Child is set for the ruin, and for the resurrection of 
many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be con- 
tradicted, and thy own soul a sword shall pierce.' ' 

From that moment the Virgin Mother began to 
experience that deep grief which the anticipation of 
coming suffering always brings with it. Little by 
little the truth dawned upon her. Gradually the 
truth rose up before her mental vision, and soon she 
saw in dim outline a mountain, on the summit of 
which stood a cross, and that cross was crimsoned 
with the pure and precious blood of her dear Child. 
No mind can ever measure the depth of the anguish 
which this vision brought to Mary's heart. Oh, breth- 
ren, if that prophecy of Venerable Simeon could have 
been blotted out from her memory, if the memories 



Sermons 169 

of the Presentation could have been effaced from the 
history of her life, she might have been better pre- 
pared to battle against the tide of trial and grief that 
now seemed to be her only portion and inheritance in 
this world. She might have been able to bear her 
second sorrow — the hardships of a flight into Egypt, 
and the privations of an exile from kindred and 
country ; she might have been greatly strengthened 
to endure the third sorrow — the loss of Jesus and 
temporary separation from Him ; and she might have 
been better nerved for her fourth sorrow — that 
awful meeting on the way to Cavalry. 

But God willed it otherwise. Perhaps He wished 
to teach the world that the way of suffering is 
always the way to heaven. Certain it is that He 
wished to make Mary the Queen of Martyrs. And 
will anyone dispute her claim to this title ? What 
martyr ever endured for thirty-three years, as she 
did, the sufferings of a tortured mind ? What 
mother ever carried before her eyes, day after day, 
for more than thirty-three years, as she did, the pic- 
ture of a crucifixion, and that the crucifixion of her 
son ? What mother has ever taken into hers, little 
hands that were, later on, to be pierced with rough 
nails ? What mother has ever pressed to her breast a 
little head that was doomed one day to be crowned 
with thorns ? What mother, looking into the eyes of 
her innocent child, has ever been forced to say of Him 
what she was forced to say of Jesus : " ' There is no 
beauty in Him, nor comeliness. We have seen Him, 
and we have thought Him, as it were, a leper, and as 
one struck by God and afflicted ... He shall be 
led as a sheep to the slaughter . . . and He shall 
not open His mouth." 

Well, this was Mary's privilege, if such it maybe 
called, while she lived at Nazareth. And when Jesus 
left Nazareth — that home sanctified by sufferings 
and sorrows as well as by domestic virtues, Mary 



170 Father Walsh 

followed Him. Yes, followed Him even to Calvary, 
where her heart was pierced, as Venerable Simeon 
said it would be, with a sword or grief. Most bitter, 
indeed, one would think, must have been the young 
Virgin's sufferings three and thirty years before, on 
the night of the Saviour's Nativity, when, footsore 
and weary, she sought, but sought in vain, for shel- 
ter in the inn at Bethlehem. To our minds, her 
failure to find hospitality must have cut her to the 
very heart ; but to Mary, standing beneath the 
bloody cross, the experience of the December night 
seemed more like a blessed relief, or at most, a 
slight disappointment. 

She had for years anticipated the scenes of Good 
Friday ; but she stood face to face with stern reality. 
She saw the brutal soldiers tear from the bleeding 
body of her Son the seamless garment which she had 
woven with her own hands. She heard the cries of 
derision, and the blasphemies of the mob ; every 
blow of the hammer fell upon her ears, and her 
heart sank within her. There was no one to help 
her ; no one to soothe her grief. It was vain, and 
she knew it, to appeal to the cruel men who were 
scattered about the mount. 

Finally, looking up through blinding tears, she 
beheld a sight that filled to overflowing the cup of 
affliction, and must have made her long for death. 
Jesus — her son — was hanging and dying on the cross. 
Yes, He was dying before her very eyes, and still 
out of the reach of every kindly service. It is a 
torture for a mother to remain inactive by the death- 
bed of her child. Grief must be doing something. 
The wants of the sufferer are the luxuries of the 
mourner. This is a sacred privilege and a long- 
remembered pleasure, to smooth the pillow of the 
dying ; to wipe from his clammy brow the sweat of 
death ; to moisten the bloodless lips, and to bring back 
warmth to the icy hands and feet. Think, then. 



Sermons 171 

what Mary must have suffered those three long hours 
beneath the cross ! Duty kept her near the Crucified, 
but brutality rendered her powerless to ease the 
agony that now ends in death. ' ' Bowing His head, " 
says the Evangelist, "He breathed forth His spirit.'' 

The crucifixion was the Virgin Mother's fifth 
dolor. The sixth and seventh were the receiving of 
the Saviour's dead body into her arms, and the con- 
signing of it to the tomb. When kind hands had 
rolled the stone over against the door of the sepul- 
chre, Mary stood forth alone, for all time to come, 
the model of suffering and the mother of sorrows. 

Let us stop here, dearly beloved brethren, and 
ask ourselves one question : Why did Mary suffer 
so much, so patiently, so heroically ? We answer : 
In the first place, to give us an example. By her 
sorrows she showed us with what fortitude we ought 
to bear our sufferings, and associate them, as she did, 
with those of her own Son. Secondly, it was fitting 
that she should suffer for her own sake, for she had 
to earn her salvation and glory, which is now hers in 
heaven and on earth. If Christ Himself submitted 
to every humiliation, and so entered into glory, who 
can claim, who would want exemption from the law 
of suffering ? By her sorrows, Mary purchased the 
rewards of eternal life. Remember this, brethren, 
as the one great lesson to be learned from this day's 
feast. Remember, too, we sinners must imitate the 
example of the sinless if we would share in their 
triumph. Remember the blood of Jesus and the tears 
of Mary. Both were shed for us — one to redeem, 
the other to encourage and assist us. 

Let us, therefore, stand firm in trial, in affliction 
and suffering, and in sorrow. Let our burdens be 
lightened by faith and hope and love, and we shall 
have the merits of Christ's sufferings secured and 
applied to us through the prayers and sorrows of His 
and our Mother. 



172 Father Walsh 



OCTOBER DEVOTION. 

Dearly Beloved Brethren : 

According to a custom that has now obtained in 
the Church, October is called the month of the Holy 
Rosary, just as June is called the month of the Sacred 
Heart, and May the month of Mary. 

There are well-known and well-grounded reasons 
to explain the setting aside of our seasons of spe- 
cial prayer and devotion, but the real motive that 
prompted the dedication of October to the Virgin 
Queen of the Most Holy Rosary may be said to be 
practically unknown to not a few of our otherwise 
well-informed Catholic laity. 

Hence, have we deemed it, dearly beloved breth- 
ren, a sacred duty to ourselves, as well as an humble 
service to the Church of Christ, to lay before you this 
morning such considerations as may move you to take 
a living, active, personal part in the simple devotions 
now being held every day throughout the Catholic 
world. I need scarcely remind you that this is an 
age of co-operation, an age of union, and that in 
union there is strength. 

This is one of those immortal truths that require 
no demonstration, but one from which the suffering 
and oppressed of all times and all places have derived 
the greatest courage and reaped the greatest results. 
To-day, as ever, it is the watchword of the weak, 
and as a consequence, we see right, everywhere, 
slowly but surely emancipating itself from the cruel, 
crushing grasp of might and despotism. Let it be 
distinctly understood, brethren, that we are not now 
referring to a co-operation merely physical in its 
nature, and local in its application. 

On the contrary, the co-operation to which we 
allude is moral rather than physical. It is a union 
not so much of hands as of hearts and sentiments. 
It is a league that knows no limits save those of 



Sermons 173 

earth itself. It embraces all countries and classes, 
calling upon us, its members, not only to feel and 
pray for the victims of persecution, wherever found, 
but also to lift up our hearts to God in behalf of Holy 
Church, upon whom devolves the ofttime thankless 
task of preserving intact our dearest rights of con- 
science, and that freedom wherewith Christ hath 
made us free. 

The war now going on between religion and the 
powers of darkness, though bloodless, is, neverthe- 
less, a relentless one, and no effort is being spared to 
wreck the Barque of Peter, as is evident in even a 
hurried glance at the present sad condition of the 
Church in many countries of Europe. 

Many years ago, the government of France again 
declared itself as against the Catholic Church. For 
many years it has opposed her at every step, heaping 
every species of indignity upon her children, and 
ended by sending into exile religious orders that had 
shed lustre on the French name long before the Re- 
public saw the light of day. Not long since, this 
same Masonic government passed a law, by the pro- 
visions of which thousands of young Levites were 
taken from their seminaries, deprived of their books, 
of prayer and piety, and sent into barracks, ostensi- 
bly for the purpose of learning the military art, but 
virtually to learn impiety and impurity. Hell itself 
could not have devised a better means to injure 
Christianity, and imperil the salvation of immortal 
souls. 

Sad admission to make. Its boldness has only 
been equalled by its success ; for we are in a position 
to assert that France is to-day the most impious, and 
one of the most immoral nations on the face of the 
earth. St. Paul says there are sins, the very men- 
tion of which must be excluded from among Chris- 
tians. In obedience to his injunctions, we shall 
refrain from reciting certain facts and figures found 



174 Father Walsh 

in the latest official reports of the French criminal 
and divorce courts. They are too horrible for a 
Christian tongue to utter, too horrible for Christian 
ears to hear. Suffice it to say, that this same spirit 
of hostility is not confined to France alone. Like a 
foul epidemic, it has spread far and wide, seriously 
infecting in its course Switzerland and Italy, and 
parts of Germany and Belgium. In the latter coun- 
try, the war is to the death. Here the struggle is 
for the soul of the child, into whose hands the Gov- 
ernment will place only such books as make no men- 
tion of the name of God and Jesus Christ. 

My brethren, let anyone whose heart is not on 
fire with the malice and hate of the demon, take up a 
crucifix ; at home, study its deep, pathetic lessons ; 
let him ask himself whose bruised image and torn 
body is represented on that cross — and why it hangs 
there ; and let him, if he will, efface from the minds 
and hearts of our youth the name and memory of 
Him Who died that we might live, and that little chil- 
dren might come unto Him. As you perceive, it has 
come to this : that our enemies are trying with might 
and main to destroy the blessings of the Redemption. 
In view of this fact, the question for you and for me 
to ask and answer is : Will they succeed ? With 
God's grace and our sympathetic prayers spurring on 
our brethren across the waters, the impious undertak- 
ing cannot and will not triumph. Every day during 
this month we will ask the God of battles to teach 
their hands to war, and their fingers to fight. If 
God be with them, we know that even armies will be 
powerless against them. 

After many trials and much suffering, the 
Church in Germany enjoys a cessation of hostilities. 
She fought nobly for the right, and the Lord blessed 
the brave ones who trusted in Him. No army ever 
showed more courage on the field of battle than did 
the brave bishops and devoted priests of Germany, 



Sermons 175 

many of whom died in exile for daring obey God 
rather than man. You know how Bismarck boasted 
some years ago to bury the Catholic Church. He 
was branded a failure by his own sovereign, and his 
name, like his faded popularity, was doomed to an 
ignominious grave. 

But if peace be the present happy portion of the 
Church in Germany, the reverse is true of religion in 
Italy. Italy is the home, the cradle of Catholicity. 
It was from the catacombs of Rome that the Church 
came forth to Christianize and to civilize the whole of 
Northern and Western Europe. History tells how 
well she fulfilled her saving mission, and how unsel- 
fishly she championed the cause of the ignorant and 
weak against the unscrupulous rulers of the East. 
When abandoned by their kings and left to the mercy 
of the Mohammedans, the people of Europe, and 
especially the people of Italy, always found in the 
Vicar of Christ, the Pope of Rome, a friend, a father, 
and a protector, to whose personal intervention and 
official influence they owed more than once their lives 
and their liberties. 

And how have the kindly offices of the Church 
been repaid ? By ingratitude, insult, and spoliation. 
Yes, brethren, the Italian Government has gagged 
and robbed the Church of Jesus Christ and shut up 
in the Vatican His vicar, a man innocent of every 
charge save that of being the Spiritual Father of 
215,000,000 Catholics. Some years ago the news was 
flashed across the ocean that Cardinal Pecci had 
become Pope, but it forgot to add, did the same 
Masonic government of Italy, that he became a 
prisoner as well. 

True, this thought bows us down in sorrow ; but 
we concede to no human government the right to 
spoliate and imprison our Supreme Pontiff. It is an 
outrage on justice and an insult to humanity. These 
are our views, brethren, and we would fain believe 



176 Father Walsh 

they are yours also. They are the message of filial 
love which we ask the celebrant of the divine 
mysteries to lay at the feet of our Holy Father when 
he shall again be privileged to receive his paternal 
blessing. But this expression of devotion were very 
insignificant indeed, if unaccompanied by a promise 
to work and pray for the triumph of the Church and 
the liberation of our common Spiritual Father. He 
himself has suggested, from time to time, the means 
to the end. It is simple, it is easy. It is nothing 
more than the recitation of the Holy Rosary during 
the month of October. 

We are well aware that this means seems weak 
and inadequate, to say the least. Nevertheless, we 
are reminded in the holy book, if God wishes to 
perform anything unusually grand and sublime, He 
makes use of small, and apparently contemptible, in- 
struments. Thus, He used the rod of Moses to effect 
great miracles, and to rescue the Israelites from 
Egyptian slavery. He chose the young shepherd boy 
David to slay with a small stone Goliath, the great 
enemy of God's people. He bade Gideon to select 
300 out of 32,000 warriors, to confound the power of 
the cruel Madianites. He chose the cross, once the 
sign of ignominy, to be the means of our redemp- 
tion ; and, finally, to convert the world, He sent forth 
twelve poor, unlettered fishermen. 

Should we, therefore, distrust the efficacy of the 
Holy Rosary as a means of victory ? Prayer is al- 
ways a mighty weapon, and we all remember of at 
least one instance in which it accomplished precisely 
what we are now asked to pray for, the freedom 
of the Sovereign Pontiff. Many centuries ago, St. 
Peter, our first Pope, was languishing in a prison 
cell. He was chained hand and foot, and awaited 
calmly the day and hour of execution. A great fear 
fell upon his spiritual children, who were not, how- 
ever, idle. The whole Church made incessant sup- 



Sermons 177 

plication to heaven, and God sent an angel to break 
the captive's chains, and led him triumphantly from 
the dreary dungeon. 

It is true to say that what has been done once 
can be done again. God does not grow weak with 
lapsing years. His right hand has not been short- 
ened. He is the same yesterday, to-day, and to- 
morrow. He is merciful, and will hear our prayers. 
The Rosary will save the Church now, just as, 300 
years ago, at Lepanto, it saved Christian civilization 
from the barbarous Mohammedans. 

Remember, my brethren, whosoever fails to pray 
for the Church is not doing his full duty to God. He 
is not loving as he should his suffering brethren, to 
whom he is bound by the triple tie of faith, hope, 
and charity. Whenever possible during the month, 
come to the devotions. Let pious Christian parents 
see to it that the members of their household be 
gathered together at evening to pray for the inten- 
tion of our Holy Father, and let us ask God that the 
Church may soon be as free and untrammelled 
throughout the world as she is in this our own 
glorious land of civil and religious liberty. 



SIXTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 
"They watched Him. ,, — Luke xiv, 1. 

It has been said, dearly beloved brethren, that 
the Gospel of Christ is a force capable of conquering 
and converting the world. 

Were its teachings heard and loyally heeded, 
there would be, without doubt, far more light than 
darkness in the moral world, far more rejoicing than 
repining in the human heart. There would be more 
sincerity than hypocrisy among men ; more edifica- 
tion than scandal in social and domestic life. But 



178 Father Walsh 

most of us are so heedless or so thoughtless, so indif- 
ferent or superficial, as to be almost beyond the 
serious impressions of the Gospel. We are very like 
the man mentioned in Holy Writ, who, beholding his 
countenance in a glass and going his way, presently 
forgot what manner of man he was. Impressionless, 
like such a one, we hear the Gospel truths as though 
we heard them not. Their reading or their preach- 
ing is quickly forgotten. The result is that God's 
precious promises are virtually unknown, while His 
salutary warnings are practically ignored. 

A proof of this assertion may be drawn from to- 
day's Gospel, and more especially from these words 
of our text: "They watched Him." These words 
are not new to you, brethren. I am sure that you 
have all heard them before, and more than once ; 
but I am equally sure they have had, heretofore, but 
little meaning for not a few of you ; that they have 
fallen, as it were, like seed upon ungrateful ground ; 
for had they taken root in your souls, had they 
yielded, as they should, a spiritual harvest, you 
would be to-day more cautious as to your words, and 
more careful as to your works ; you would be more 
conscious of the fact that you are being watched ; 
and that, therefore, it behooveth everyone so to reg- 
ulate his or her life as to win the approval of God. 
Every life that bears the seal of Heaven's approval 
is, indeed, a testimony unto the power of the Gospel, 
as an uplifting, transforming, and conquering force. 

If we would succeed in leading lives, thus show- 
ing forth the power of the Gospel, we must first 
know and feel, brethren, that God is ever watching 
us. Holy Writ says that we are before His eyes, day 
and night. Neither is there any place in all creation 
where we can veil ourselves, even if we would, from 
the all-seeing eye of God. If we ascend to heaven, 
He is there ; if we descend into the bowels of the 
earth, He is there. To be just in His future judg- 



Sermons 179 

merits, God must see, and hear, and know all things ; 
for, one day, He is to render to every man according 
to His works. What higher, what holier motive 
could there be for watching us ? What an en- 
couragement for the children of promise ! What an 
inspiration for us to persevere in "doing good," 
despite the machinations of the evil one and the 
withering scorn of the world ! The world still clings 
to the spirit of pharisaism. It watches us as it 
watched Christ in the days of His public ministry, 
primarily to ensnare us, and then to condemn us. 
Those who fancy its ways are welcome to its rewards ; 
but never was greater mistake made than when a 
man or a woman, freely following its principles or its 
practices, deceives himself or herself into the belief 
that it is possible to escape the consequences of his or 
her folly. 

After the commission of their memorable sin, 
Adam and Eve planned to flee from the face of their 
Maker ; but it was a useless attempt, for He who 
was an eye-witness to their transgression revealed to 
them the very secrets of their hearts. Cain— the 
murderer — sinned, and would fain hide himself frcm 
the gaze of the Almighty, but the Almighty found 
him out, and reproached him with his crime. David 
sinned. To show that He was cognizant of it, the 
Lord hurled against him the sentence of death, which 
would have been carried into execution had not the 
deep and sincere repentance of the criminal excited 
the pity and the mercy of God. There is, and can be, 
no hiding-place from the Most High. It is now more 
than two thousand years since the Inspired Penman 
wrote: "Thine eyes, Lord, are upon us." Yes, 
God sees and watches us. 

While this thought should recall the wicked from 
his evil ways, it should also be an incentive to the 
godly to reach out after a larger perfection. For if 
God sees and punishes wrong-doing, it is clear that 



180 Father Walsh 

He also sees and rewards well-doing, high thinking, 
and noble living. Remember, brethren, it is a law of 
our nature to grow spiritually as well as physically, 
and thus bear witness, each in his or her own humble 
way, to the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 
Our Blessed Lord Himself seems to intimate as much 
when He says : ; ' Let the saint sanctify himself still 
more." Again He says: "Be ye perfect, even as 
your Heavenly Father is perfect." Hence sanctity, 
perfection, holiness, are necessary and becoming the 
children of God, inasmuch as they are supposed to 
represent Christ and His cause. 

Grown, as many of us are, to the weak principles 
and practices of the world, this may seem like a 
strange doctrine ; but what we have said ceases to 
be strange when we bring to mind the fact that he 
who fails to represent the heavenly model is sure to 
misrepresent Him— and misrepresent Him ofttimes— 
to the spiritual detriment of countless others. The 
Apostle says that no man liveth unto himself, from 
which we draw but one conclusion, namely : that 
whether we represent or misrepresent Christ, we are 
sure to be watched. We are a part of society, and, 
necessarily, our influence, be it ever so insignificant, 
is bound to work either good or evil. 

Therefore, brethren, knowing that the eyes of 
our fellow-men are upon us, and that God is watch- 
ing us, we should strive to imitate the Son of Man, 
Who was prudent, wise and cautious, fearless in 
doing good, slow in giving offence, instant in prayer, 
instant in patience. Our words do indeed apply to all 
men and women desirous of leading Christian lives, 
and bearing witness to the power of the Gospel ; but 
they apply more especially still to those who hold an- 
other's place and power in the family. In the home 
circle the eyes of the little ones are upon the parents. 
Woe to you, fathers and mothers, if your works or 
your words scandalize the young and innocent. Par- 



Sermons 181 

ents, in common with others who are burdened with 
less responsibility, are too apt to forget that they are 
being watched. 

SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

, CONFIDENCE IN GOD. 

The doctrine of Jesus Christ, my brethren, may 
be resumed in three words : Faith, hope, and charity. 

Like trees planted in a fertile soil, so has God im- 
planted these virtues in the very souls and hearts of 
His children, in order that, as St. Paul tells us, we 
might bring forth fruit unto salvation. Unfortu- 
nately, however, there is one great obstacle to the 
complete realization of this glorious end, and that one 
obstacle is sin ; for sin is the death of the soul and of 
every virtue. 

In a moment of weakness, our first parents 
sinned, and as the terrible result of their transgres- 
sion, we find the human race plunged in the greatest 
degradation for upwards of four thousand years, dur- 
ing which time the world had little faith, less hope, 
and no charity. Men had strayed away from the 
path marked out for them by God, and they con- 
tinued to wander in the mazes of spiritual darkness 
until the coming of Christ, Who was the Light and 
the Life of the fallen world. 

Enlightened by Him, men soon began to see 
clearer ; their faith in the Deity revived, and, seeing 
the wonders wrought by the Son, they began to love 
the Father, their neighbor, and themselves. Yes, 
my brethren, the coming of Jesus Christ into this 
world signalized in the human heart the revival of 
faith, hope, and charity. 

In to-day's Gospel our attention is directed to 
the first of these virtues, namely, faith, the depth 
and the strength of which may and must be measured 



182 Father Walsh 

by our confidence in God. St. Jerome calls confi- 
dence in God the best test of faith in Him, and this 
assertion is fully confirmed by many touching and 
wonderful miracles recorded in Holy Writ. 

In the fifteenth chapter of his Gospel, St. Mat- 
thew relates that a certain woman came to Jesus, 
and, falling down at His feet, besought Him to re- 
store her daughter's health, saying: "Have mercy 
on me, Lord, Thou, Son of David/ ' At first the 
anxious mother's request went unnoticed. A second 
attempt was no more successful than the first ; but, 
nothing daunted, she pressed forward a third time, 
and finally obtained from our Blessed Lord the de- 
sired answer : ' ' woman, great is thy faith : be it 
done to thee as thou wilt." Behold, my brethren, 
the kind of confidence that should accompany our 
faith. 

Another remarkable incident which goes to prove 
that God measures our faith by our confidence in 
Him, is found in the Gospel of this Sunday. A poor, 
afflicted man, so completely struck down with palsy 
as to be unable to walk, is carried, at his urgent 
request, to the place where Jesus is known to be. 
Doubtless this poor man had heard of the many cures 
already wrought in behalf of other sufferers from 
his own illness, and was filled with hope that he 
might be cured as others had been. He fully appre- 
ciates the difficulties of the situation, but he bravely 
faces them all ; and our Blessed Lord generously 
rewards his confidence, saying to Him : ' ' Rise up, 
take thy bed and go into thy house." And the man 
sick of the palsy rose up and returned to his home, 
restored to health. 

In the face of such a miracle, we are not sur- 
prised at the favorable impression made upon the 
multitude, nor should we dismiss from our minds the 
account of this miracle with only a passing thought. 
We should think well on it, remembering that what- 



Sermons 183 

soever things have been written, have been written 
for our instruction. We have, it is true, faith in the 
same Christ Who, nineteen hundred years ago, cured 
the afflicted man mentioned in to-day's Gospel ; but, 
I would ask you, have you the same faith as the 
palsied man ? Is your faith, like his, strong, prac- 
tical, open, convincing, confiding ? This, I fear, is a 
doubtful question with many of us, for it is precisely 
want of such faith that constitutes the great curse of 
our age. Nowadays, people boast of self-reliance in 
all the crises of life ; men rely on themselves, and 
teach their children to look on their own capabilities 
and resources. In our undertakings, in our reverses, 
we show the littleness of our faith by want of confi- 
dence in God. In business, we try to make success 
depend entirely upon our own personal merits and ex- 
ertions, quickly setting aside the providence of God. 

But in the Gospel of this Sunday our Blessed 
Lord indirectly censures such a course. By a mi- 
raculous cure, He teaches us to confide in Him ; and 
in our own day, and as an incentive to rely upon 
Him, God performs even greater miracles in favor of 
confiding Christians and Catholics. It is a soul- 
stirring sight to see the army of the sick who visit 
annually the shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, and to 
listen to the open, public profession of faith in the 
power and goodness of God, and in the intercession 
of His Blessed Mother. Like the centurion, they 
travel long distances, sustained and encouraged by 
Him Who, in other times, caused the deaf to hear, 
the blind to see, the dumb to speak, the lame to 
walk, and the dead to rise from their graves. 

But, my brethren, if God rewards so munificently 
the confidence of those who have recourse to Him in 
their physical ailments, with how much more con- 
fidence should we fly to Him in our spiritual afflic- 
tions, of which the bodily infirmities are only the 
types and figures. The palsied man did what any- 



184 Father Walsh 

one in the state of sin may and should undertake. 
He felt his state, and was determined to make every 
effort to be healed. With this end in view, he did 
not simply pray to God, but he did something more. 
He had recourse to outward means, which he felt 
were at his disposal. He had heard of One Who was 
going about doing good to all who came within His 
reach, and he appealed to his friends, requesting 
them to convey him into the presence of this kind 
benefactor. 

If you, beloved brethren, looking into yourselves, 
should find any palsy, any sin about your souls, you 
may, indeed, call out to God for mercy, saying with 
the Psalmist : ' Have mercy on me, Lord, for I 
am sick. Heal me, Lord, for my bones are trou- 
bled.' ' But count not this sufficient. There is an 
outward act which you can perform. There is a 
means within your reach which you can adopt, and 
which can bring a cure to you. It has cured others, 
and it can cure you. Go to God in His Church, and 
ask for the application of that means, and these 
words can and will be pronounced over you : 'Be 
of good heart, son, thy sins are forgiven thee." 
Have confidence, therefore, in the goodness and 
mercy of God. Be as courageous and as earnest as 
the sick man mentioned in to-day's Gospel, in your 
efforts to be relieved from your spiritual disorders. 
Consider it no weakness to come into God's presence 
and ask the forgiveness of your sins. For that act 
is the Catholic's greatest mark of confidence in God, 
and confidence, as St. Jerome remarks, is the measure 
of our faith. Remember the words of Christ to the 
clergy of His Church : "Whose sins you shall for- 
give, they are forgiven. Whatsoever you shall loose 
on earth shall be loosed in Heaven." 

My brethren, we want, not a new faith, but more 
of the old faith. We want to rely more on God, and 
less on ourselves, and in our spiritual necessities we 



Sermons 185 

want confidence in the Church. The Church can do 
precisely what Jesus Christ did, because He has 
given to her all the power which, as man, He had re- 
ceived from His Eternal Father. She can, therefore, 
extend her hand over the penitent sinner who comes 
to her in sorrow and confidence, and can say : "Be 
of good heart, son, thy sins are forgiven. ' ' And, no 
doubt, every time you hear those words pronounced 
over you, you will join with the angels, who will re- 
joice at your pardon, and with them you will gladly 
praise and glorify God, Who hath given such power 
to men. Amen. 

SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

Almighty God has so many ways of teaching us, 
my dear brethren, that it is only wisdom on our part 
faithfully to observe the commandments of love laid 
down by Christ in these few words of to-day's Gos- 
pel : " Thou shalt love the Lord, thy God, with thy 
whole heart, and with thy whole soul, with all thy 
strength, and with all thy mind." 

To some of us this lesson is imparted through the 
oft-repeated admonitions and exhortations of Holy 
Church, which, like a tender mother, is ever guarding 
her children against the seductive wiles of the devil 
and from the follies of a sinful world. To some 
others, the lesson comes through a special light and 
grace from above ; but for the larger portion of the 
human family it will, and can, come only through the 
sad experience of those who have loved the world 
and the things of time, only to find themselves at 
the end of life friendless and hopeless. Nor should 
we be surprised that darkness and despair are the 
natural result of having wilfully wasted the talents 
and the time given us by God for His time and glory. 
The service of this world always was and always will 
be a most thankless one. Moreover, passion and 



-^ 



186 Father Walsh 

pleasure, for which so many of us live, are the 
hardest of hard masters, for when we can love and 
serve them no longer, they will cast us aside and 
leave us to acknowledge, even on our death-beds, 
and in bitterness of spirit, that we are going out 
from life without ever knowing the reason of our 
coming into it. 

Oh ! my brethren, such admissions (and they 
are not few), are well calculated, one would think, 
to teach us to profit by the fearful and fatal mistakes 
of our less favored fellows. And yet, strange to 
say, it requires no extraordinary power of vision to 
see numberless souls still straying away, every day, 
from the love of God and His Christ. We need not 
go far to find abundant evidence bearing on this 
point ; for, looking around us, do we not perceive 
numbers of men and women who are deeply engrossed 
with a multiplicity of worldly cares, and who are 
drawn away from their higher interests by a thousand 
and one whims of their capricious hearts ? 

Such people have virtually forgotten God, and 
forge tfulness is, dearly beloved brethren, one of 
the surest signs that they have ceased to love their 
Creator, the Eternal Source of infinite happiness, per- 
fection and power. And as it is with them, so must 
it be with you and me. If we love and serve any 
but God alone, we are simply forgetting His good- 
ness, and overlooking a perfection and a power that 
we recognized at all times and felt in all places. It 
is He Who preserves and governs this universe of 
ours by His Sovereign Intelligence, of which our 
minds are but the faintest scintillations. It is He 
Who commands the winds and the waves, and Who 
says to the angry billows of the deep : ' ' You shall 
come thus far, and no further.' ' Again, it is He 
Who says to the sorrowing sinner : ' ' Be of good 
heart ; thy sins are forgiven thee. Go, and sin no 
more." Finally, it is He Who whispers words of 



Sermons 187 

consolation and encouragement into the ears of the 
afflicted and the oppressed, saying to them, as He 
said of old : M Weep not." 

When we think of all this power, and perfection, 
and goodness, we cannot but recall the words of a 
pious writer : ' ' The beauty, the mercy, and the ten- 
derness of God are reflected in the myriads of 
creatures that still grace our fallen world." Yes, 
brethren, ours is a good and great God. Therefore, 
admiration for God's perfections is at least gratitude, 
for His goodness demands that we love the Lord, our 
God, with our whole heart, and with our whole soul, 
with all our strength, and with all our mind. 

But how shall we best show the love of our Maker 
and Master ? This question is best answered by 
Jesus Himself in the Gospel of St. John, where it is 
written : ' ' If anyone love Me, he will keep My com- 
mandments." Hence, fidelity to the Saviour's com- 
mandments is the supreme test of our love for God. 
Knowing the rich reward that is in store for all those 
who love and serve the Lord, let us resolve, dear 
brethren, to attach our hearts to something better 
than this world and the things of time, to seek some- 
thing better than the short-lived pleasures and soul- 
destroying passions. Let the learned and ambitious 
man remember that fame and fortune may make him, 
as they have made others before him, forgetful of his 
Creator. Let the miser refrain from making a god 
of his gold. Let the drunkard bear in mind that he 
should not enshrine in his heart the vile demon of 
intemperance. Finally, let the sensual take heed, 
lest death find him prostrated at the foulest of altars, 
worshipping the foulest and the falsest of divinities — 
his own bad passions. 

And you, Christian parents, teach your children, 
in whom are wrapped up so many hopes of happiness 
for time and for eternity, that the love of God is 
paramount to all things else ; teach them that God 



188 Father Walsh 

alone can satisfy all our cravings after happiness ; 
teach them that with His love in their hearts, they 
will be great— even in humiliation ; cheerful— even in 
sufferings and misery ; rich— even in poverty, and 
strong— even in death. In a word, tell them that 
there is nothing beautiful, good or true that is not in 
and from God, and that consequently He is to be loved 
by us with our whole heart, and with our whole soul, 
with all our strength, and with all our mind. 



EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

"Son, be of good heart, thy sins are for- 
given thee." 

There are, dearly beloved brethren, two powers 
that belong exclusively to the true priesthood of 
Jesus Christ. 

What these two powers are, and when and where 
and how they were conferred upon the priests of the 
Church, are all matters of great moment to the 
human family, and form one of the most interesting 
chapters of the Holy Gospel according to St. John. 
He tells us that after Jesus had changed the sub- 
stance of the bread and wine into the substance of 
His own body and blood, He turned to His Apostles, 
and in spirit to their successors, and said to them : 
"Do ye this in commemoration of Me." These 
words, uttered at the Last Supper, constitute the 
power of consecration, which is the first, and, per- 
haps, the most sublime prerogative of the Catholic 
priesthood. 

But our Blessed Lord did not stop here. We read 
in the twentieth chapter of the Gospel according to 
St. John, that three days later, on the very day of His 
resurrection, Jesus appeared to His assembled Apos- 
tles and said to them : "Peace be to you. Receive 



Sermons 189 

ye the Holy Ghost : whose sins you shall forgive, they 
are forgiven : and whose sins you shall retain, they 
are retained. ' ' If these words do not mean to convey 
the power of forgiving and retaining sins, which we 
claim for the Christian priesthood, then, I ask you, 
dearly beloved brethren, in all seriousness, what do 
they mean ? 

We know that modern infidelity has done its 
worst to destroy faith in the teachings of Inspiration ; 
we are all well aware of the fact that pride and pas- 
sion, prejudice and ignorance, have each, in their 
turn, sought to discredit the validity of the priest- 
hood's powers ; but we are prepared to prove that 
their efforts have been only partially successful. 
God-loving and God-fearing men and women realize 
that both heaven and earth shall pass away, but the 
Lord's words shall not pass away. They realize, 
too, that whatsoever things have been written, have 
been written for our instruction, that is, for our 
salvation ; and that it is neither safe nor honest to 
play the fool, or the sophist, where there is question 
of a matter that concerns the interests and the 
destiny of our immortal souls. 

There are a goodly number of Christians still too 
wise to forget that warning given to us by our 
Divine Master and Model, when He said : "Nothing 
defiled shall enter the kingdom of heaven." Hence, 
people do, and will, trust in the mercy of God, as 
manifested in and through the Sacrament of Pen- 
ance. It will not avail a man anything on the judg- 
ment day to say to Jesus Christ that he questioned or 
doubted the existence in the Church of a power to 
wipe away sin ; it will not avail him anything, I say, 
to acknowledge he found it hard to kneel down, and 
only half thanked God for giving such power to men. 
Indeed, such a one deserves no better treatment at 
the hands of Christ than would the most miserable of 
the ancient Pharisees, who called Jesus a blasphemer 
because He dared to exercise such a prerogative. 



190 Father Walsh 

" Woe to you, hypocrites/ ' said our Blessed Lord 
to the Scribes and Pharisees of nineteen centuries 
ago ; and so we say to modern hypocrites, to the 
world, and to its legitimate offspring, infidelity : Woe 
to you ; you may hold fast to your own theories and 
thoughts, but they shall never succeed in effacing 
from the human heart and mind the beauty and the 
truth of the teaching of the Son of Man. The fact 
that the fool has said in his heart, " There is no 
God," does not necessarily destroy the existence of a 
Sovereign Master and Maker ; so, also, the fact that 
certain classes of people reject belief in the power of 
absolution, or the Sacrament of Penance, cannot, and 
should not, lessen our love for confession, much less 
weaken our gratitude to God, Who has given such 
power to men. If we sift down, dearly beloved 
brethren, the objections usually raised against the 
telling of our sins in order to obtain forgiveness of 
them, we shall find that they are for the most part 
far more imaginary than real. 

First of all, people unacquainted with the nature 
of a sacrament usually look upon the confession of 
sins as a heavy burden and a galling yoke. We 
understand such a feeling ; it is the natural repug- 
nance of a heart that is always proud and ofttimes 
vicious, vicious sometimes to an extent little dreamed 
of by the world. They love the darkness rather than 
the light. They are unwilling to lead virtuous lives. 
They do not hesitate to do wrong, but they are too 
weak, and consider it too great a humiliation, to follow 
the advice and the example given us by St. Augus- 
tine, who says : "Be not ashamed to confess that 
which you are not ashamed to do." 

Such people look only at the burden, and lose 
sight of the blessing and the happiness that are sure 
to follow from a worthy confession. "Son, be of 
good heart, thy sins are forgiven thee," is a saying 
that has sent a thrill of joy through many a loving 



Sermons 191 

but sin-stained soul, and we know it has brought, in 
numberless instances, relief, and comfort, and hope 
to man and women who were suffering and dying of 
spiritual palsy. 

Witness Mary Magdalen. Her name was a by- 
word throughout Jerusalem. She came one day and 
knelt down at the feet of Jesus. And He, the good 
and merciful Lord that He always was, and always 
will be, forgave her sins. " Daughter,' ' said He to 
her, ' ' go, and sin no more. ' ' Witness Holy David. 
He sinned most grievously in the sight of Heaven, 
but he repented, and God received him back into 
friendship. Witness St. Peter. He denied his Mas- 
ter, but he afterwards wept over his fall, and Christ 
absolved him. 

Why, then, should we remember the burden, the 
yoke, the humiliation, and forget the comfort that 
comes from the thought of sin forgiven ? It has 
oftentimes been said that the confessions made by 
St. Peter and Mary Magdalen were different and 
preferable to the ordeal through which Catholics pass 
nowadays in order to obtain the forgiveness of their 
sins. We are told that it is unnecessary and un- 
scriptural to confess our sins to any particular class 
of persons, and to declare their number and kind. 
According to the ideas of those who hold this view, 
it is sufficient to make known our transgressions 
against the moral law in a general manner, and 
always directly to the Lord Jesus Christ. We admit 
that such a confession would be sufficient and prac- 
ticable in the case of Mary Magdalen and St. Peter, 
because Christ, who then walked the earth, was the 
searcher of hearts, and could read the most secret 
thoughts of the mind. But since Jesus perfected 
the law, and delegated His power of forgiving or 
retaining sins to His Apostles and to their successors, 
there is, and can be, no other manner of confession 
save that now in vogue among the children of the 



192 Father Walsh 

Catholic Church. This is no new doctrine, dearly 
beloved brethren, for it flows naturally and logically 
from the words of St. John : " Whose sins you shall 
forgive, they are forgiven them ; and whose sins you 
shall retain, they are retained/ ' 

The power of absolution presupposes a knowl- 
edge of the sinner's heart, for otherwise, how shall 
the priest know whether he is to forgive or retain, to 
bind or to loose ? He cannot read the human heart 
as Christ did. Therefore, his duty is clear only when 
he has heard from the lips of the penitent himself 
the record of his crimes and the story of his sins. If 
this be not the implied and logical meaning of the 
Saviour's words, conferring the power of absolution 
upon His priesthood, then His words are meaningless. 
Nay, more, if we could fulfil our obligations of receiv- 
ing, at stated times, the Sacrament of Penance, by 
confessing directly to the Lord Jesus Christ, then we 
say the Lord Jesas Christ deceived St. Peter when 
He said to Him : ' ' Thou art Peter, and upon this 
rock I will build My church, and I shall give to thee 
the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatso- 
ever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in 
heaven ; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth 
shall be loosed also in heaven.' ' 

But we cannot, we shall not, admit even the 
shadow of deception, either in the nature or the 
teaching of our Blessed Lord. Hence, we believe 
that when He perfected the law, He changed confes- 
sion from a general to a specific declaration of our 
transgressions. We Catholics find no difficulty to 
give a reason why we believe in the forgiveness of 
sins in and through the Sacrament of Penance ; in 
other words, it is easy to show the Divine origin of 
confession, or the power of absolution. But it is 
difficult to prove, at times, its worth and its efficacy. 
We judge a tree by its fruit ; a man by his works ; a 
Christian by his virtues. Naturally, we judge of the 



Sermons 193 

efficacy of confession by its results. The results 
ought to be, brethren, the highest and the best. 
Are they ? Not always ; because some children of 
the Church hardly ever use the Sacrament of Pen- 
ance, while others use it with doubtful dispositions. 
These are two awful abuses of God's grace, and 
those who are guilty of them have done more to 
destroy morality and religion in this world than a 
legion of devils. See the father or the mother who 
never approaches the tribunal of penance ; what love 
and respect can their children have for confession ? 
And what are we to think of the man or woman who, 
having heard these words pronounced over him or 
her, "Thy sins are forgiven thee," rises up and 
goes back to sinful habits, to lives of gross immor- 
ality and drunkenness ? What are we to think of 
such a man's or woman's contrition, sincerity, and 
honesty of purpose ? 

Oh, brethren, let us who know how sweet the 
gifts of God are, cherish a deep love for the Sacra- 
ment of Penance. Let us receive it often and with 
sincere dispositions. Then shall it be given us to 
know and feel the peace which the world cannot give 
nor take away ; that peace which Christ gave to 
Holy David, to Mary Magdalen ; the peace that can 
only come from the thought of sins forgiven, and 
spiritual life restored to us. 



NINETEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

"For many are called, but few are 
chosen."— Matt, xxii, 14. 

Dearly Beloved Brethren : 

We must reasonably doubt if ever the Divine lips 
of Jesus Christ uttered a more momentous truth than 
that contained in the closing words of this Sunday's 
Gospel. 



194 Father Walsh 

It naturally divides the human family into two 
distinct classes : the one numbering the many — aye, 
the vast multitudes who are called to know and 
love and serve God in this life ; the other containing 
the few who achieve, I will not say the greatest, 
but the most meager measure of success in their 
heavenly calling. Hence, our text may be taken as 
expressing a momentous truth, a reality of deep sig- 
nificance and unusual sacredness. To some of us 
that truth cames in the nature of a holy and happy 
message from heaven ; for, naturally, it cheers and 
swells with feelings of hope, the hearts of all true 
and courageous Christians, who, like valiant soldiers, 
are bravely fighting the good fight until the day of life 
is done, and its beautiful afterglow tells of an eter- 
nal victory. But to some others, my brethren (and 
they are the immense majority of mankind, if not in- 
deed of Christians), that simple declaration of Jesus 
Christ comes with all the forebodings of a thunderbolt 
from heaven. It is the death-knell to many souls, the 
seal of many and many an eternal reprobation. 

The saying is, we admit, a hard one, but let it be 
at least rightly understood. It is hard only for 
cowards and traitorous children of the Church, who 
persist in wearing the mask of hypocrisy and the 
cynical smile of indifference ; in fact, it was more 
especially intended for these victims of a cruel self- 
delusion, whose religion is in their mouths rather 
than in their hearts. For I would have you know, 
dearly beloved brethren, that it is not enough for a 
man to have inherited from pious parents the pre- 
cious principles of the true faith, not enough for 
him to proclaim from the housetop his belief in 
the saving teachings of Christ's Church. Something 
more than a mere profession of faith is required of 
him, and that something more is the tribute of his 
humble, loving and persevering service. 

Do not imagine that this is a newly discovered 



Sermons 195 

doctrine, for it is not. It was Christ Himself Who 
said in the long ago : "Not every one who saith to 
Me : Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of 
God ; He who doth the will of My Father, Who is in 
heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.' ' 
Oh ! how many of us are doing God's will in this 
life ? We answer unhesitatingly— few. And how 
many of us, brethren, are drifting down the stream 
of time, totally indifferent to the work that has been 
given us to do ? Countless voices answer— many, 
multitudes. If, therefore, the few accomplish what 
the many should and might do, it is altogether nat- 
ural and logical on our part to infer that the number 
of elect be in direct ratio to the number of sincere, 
practical Christians who have not received the grace 
of God in vain. In a word, the future citizens of 
heaven will be the little number of those who have 
generously followed the light of revelation, and used 
unto salvation the numberless blessings of Christ's 
Incarnation and Cross. Graces and blessings bought 
at so great a price can be neither despised nor 
ignored. 

True, foolhardy attempts have been made in 
every stage of the world's existence to do one or the 
other, or both ; but they have always and ever ended 
with the same sad results. Sooner or later God's 
hand falls heavily on those who reject His proffered 
favors, and, like faded garments, they have been 
cast off forever. Sacred History keeps a melancholy 
record of both nations and individuals who have been 
thus treated. Would that men would read it often, 
and learn to be wise ere it is too late. Do you ask 
me, my brethren, who in our land and in our day are 
likely to call down upon themselves the curse of ever- 
lasting rejection ? The truth, as revealed by reason 
and Catholic doctrine, may pain, perhaps shock, some 
super-sensitive natures, but this will be neither our 
fault nor our intention. We have a duty to perform, 



196 Father Walsh 

and that duty is to preach God's Word as we find it. 

Hence, we say and believe, brethren, that God 
will cast into exterior darkness those who reject the 
light of truth, and for any reason permanently refuse 
it. It is clear that such people are walking in the 
footsteps of the Jews of old. They resisted the 
light of faith, they refused to heed the call of Heaven. 
That their sin might be a warning to all succeeding 
generations, God commanded it to be written in words 
of inspiration, and these words we read, substan- 
tially, in this morning's Gospel. 

The Second Person of the Blessed Trinity saved, 
sanctified, and ennobled the soul of fallen man. 
More than that, He made her His spouse, the object 
of His tenderest love. Nuptial events are usually 
followed by the gathering together of guests, who 
participate in the feast and rejoicing to which inti- 
mate friends are invited. So the Eternal Father made 
a marriage feast for His Son. He inaugurated a per- 
petual banquet, that is still being held in a hall that 
is none other than the Catholic Church. And yet, 
within it are food and drink abundant for all. There 
is only one obstacle to our participation in this great 
marriage feast mentioned in to-day's Gospel, and that 
is the want of a nuptial garment of faith and grace. 

For a beautiful and touching explanation of this 
sublime truth, we can do no better than quote for 
you, beloved brethren, what may be called Christ's 
valedictory to His friends. 

Seated at the Last Supper, the Saviour took 
bread into His holy hands, and, having lifted up His 
eyes to Heaven, He gave thanks to the Almighty 
Father, blessed, broke, and gave to His disciples, 
saying : "Take, and eat ye all of this, for this is MY 
Body." In like manner, He took tne chalice, blessed, 
and passed it to His disciples, saying: "Take, and 
drink ye all of this, for this is MY Blood. And 
verily I say unto you, My Body is meat indeed, and 



Sermons 197 

My Blood is drink indeed/ ' Thus, while souls out- 
side the pale of the Catholic Church are fed on 
signs, and figures, and symbols, and shadows, we, 
the brethren of the bridegroom, are satiated with 
spiritual nourishment, the Bread of Angels, infinitely 
sweeter than any known to man, and the wine that 
rejoiceth the heart of man. What inconceivable folly 
to refuse to enter the King's great banquet hall ! 
What malice for men to turn a deaf ear to the in- 
vitation of God ! Woe unto them who are led, by no 
matter what pretext, to sin against the light ! Their 
doom is an assured fact, as is the doom of a second 
class of persons, called bad Catholics. 

Equally hopeless will be the fate of a second, and 
numerous class, whom we may very properly call 
the weaklings of the household of faith. They think 
our faith a galling yoke, although Jesus expressly 
declares in the Holy Book : ' ' My yoke is sweet, and 
My burden light.' ' They are anxious to thrust upon 
us their so-called sympathy, and, to be candid, we 
must acknowledge that the deception has already be- 
gun to bear poisoned fruit in the minds and hearts of 
certain indifferent, lukewarm and hypocritical Cath- 
olics. This is sad, my brethren ; but this is not so 
strange, for, as among the twelve there was a faithless 
Judas, so among the members of God's household 
there are some, I cannot say many, who have entered 
upon the broad road that leads down to eternal de- 
struction. They were once, and let us pray that they 
may be again, of the few who were in God's mercy 
deemed worthy of their high vocation. Because of 
their hypocrisy, they wished to be what they are now. 
They call themselves Catholics, but they act and live 
like pagans. Why is this, brethren ? Because small, 
weak minds are incapable of appreciating the gift of 
faith, of realizing the fatal consequences of indif- 
ference. By putting on the nuptial garment of grace 
they might be privileged to return to Him Who says : 



198 Father Walsh 

"Without Me you can do nothing." But they fool- 
ishly imagine that they can serve both God and man. 

In an evil day they left the banquet hall of 
Christ, to seek happiness where they can never find 
it. One sees the end of his existence in the accum- 
ulation of wealth, to acquire which he does not 
scruple to do as Judas did : to sell his honor, to 
offend justice, and to betray His Master. Another 
practically gives up his faith for social distinction 
and political favor. My brethren, we have nothing 
to say to the man who, like Esau, sells his birthright 
for a mess of pottage. Common sense, however, 
calls such a man "a fool." 

Finally, there are some bad Catholics who have 
been morally forced to leave the banquet hall of the 
Church because of the too great purity of its atmos- 
phere. It is a curious phenomenon, brethren, that 
the higher we ascend from earth, the more difficult 
our breathing becomes. So is it in the Church, only 
in a different sense. Some people cannot remain in 
the Catholic Church because its atmosphere of sanc- 
tity is too pure. I take it as an unnecessary outlay 
of words to add that there are men and women who 
hate the light of day, in order that they may better 
grovel in the filth of their own abominations, even as 
the animals in the pen grovel in the mire. 

Perhaps it were just as well that such people 
leave the Church, if they would only give up the 
name of Catholic ; for what possible acquisition can 
such people be to any feast ? Watch them, and what 
do you remark ? That they are ashamed to look 
decent people straight in the face ; decent people 
know only too well that everything the impure man 
or woman touches is soiled, and spoiled, and turned 
into dirt. One great and general cause may be as- 
signed for the rejection of mankind, of many Chris- 
tians, and of some Catholics, and that cause is their 
failure to co-operate with God's grace. Nowadays, 



Sermons 199 

men cannot be induced to think of their souls, and 
hence the wail of the Prophet, "With desolation is 
the whole earth made desolate, because there is no 
one who thinketh in his heart/ ' 

Oh ! my brethren, let us reflect and learn from 
the experience of others to work out our salvation in 
fear and trembling. Let us do all things, let us suffer 
all things for Christ. In a word, let us fight the 
good fight, to run the race, to keep the faith. Then 
will the serenity of the last hours of life be an assur- 
ance to the world that all has ended in victory and 
in eternal life. 

"ALL SOULS' DAY." 

1 ' Have pity on me, have pity on me, at 
least you, my friends, for the hand of the Lord 
hath touched me."- Words taken from the 
Office of the Day. 

Dearly Beloved Brethren : 

A reflecting mind cannot but be impressed by 
the marked harmony existing between nature and 
religion. Both are ordained teachers of the human 
family. The former proclaims and defends the ne- 
cessity, the wisdom, and the sanctity of the latter ; 
while, in her turn, religion draws from nature many 
excellent lessons, and gives to many of her laws a 
meaning which, though mystic, is always touchingly 
significant. More especially is this true of the laws 
of motion or change, so noticeable in the natural 
world. For instance, the seasons come and go, and 
would, perhaps, leave no thought behind them of a 
message divine were it not for the action of religion, 
and the heavenly interpretations she gives to such 
changes. 

For each season she has an appropriate theme 
and especial music. 



200 Father Walsh 

In the springtime she speaks to us of hope — 
the first fruit of the Resurrection ; in winter, the 
voice is attuned to sadness, reminding us of the Ad- 
vent season, and the long, dreary night of spiritual 
misery and darkness that preceded the birth of the 
Blessed Babe of Bethlehem ; in summer, religion 
shows us the Blessed Saviour going up into heaven 
on Ascension Day, and bids us rejoice in the glorious 
promise of Whitsunday ; in autumn — the season of 
withered grass and dried leaves and faded flowers- 
she would remind us of the dead, the father and the 
friend we once loved, but now see and meet no more. 

How deep and unselfish are the love and charity 
which religion bears towards us ! Would that we 
had as much for ourselves and our neighbors. But, 
alas ! true love and Christian charity seem to be 
dying out from the earth. ' ' Out of sight, out of mind, ' ' 
seems to be a saying quite as true as it is familiar ; 
and thus the fact that they can and may be forgotten 
when they are gone, is, to the dying, a reflection 
more bitter by far than even the thought of death 
itself. To die is sad ; to be forgotten is still sadder. 

True, the vast majority of men cannot be 
brought to believe that they themselves will, one 
day, be a papable proof of this truth. Nevertheless, 
it is a fact, based upon the teaching and the testi- 
mony of every age. 

Parents fondly hope, as surely they have a sacred 
right to hope, that they will live in the affections of 
their children ; while children, on the other hand, 
rely upon brothers and sisters, and intimate friends, 
to cherish their memory and pray for their happy 
repose. Need I say, my brethren, that such hopes 
are, as a rule, little more than day-dreams. Can it 
not be shown by arguments drawn from the practical 
side of our own lives that they are nothing more ? 

We cannot reasonably presume on treatment 
better than we mete out to others. We have no right 



Sermons 201 

to expect it. But how do we treat the loved ones 
who now sleep the last long, fitful sleep of death ? 
Can it be said that we always remember faces once 
familiar, and piously think of the hearts that once 
beat responsive to the feelings of friendship and affec- 
tion ? Do we give a daily momento to our dear dead 
in our daily prayers ? How answerest thou, son, 
daughter, brother, sister, friend ? Ah ! nearer to 
the truth would it be to say that the larger portion, 
even of the household of God, seldom think of the 
faithful departed. And this cold indifference seems 
to belie our belief in that consoling doctrine of our 
faith : " It is a boly and wholesome thought to pray 
for the dead, that they may be loosed from their 
sins." 

True, brethren, we were not always so indiffer- 
ent ; for we can all recall, with feelings akin to joy, 
the days when it was our highest, and in fact our 
only delight, to soften the sorrow or alleviate the 
suffering of a kind parent or friend, whose soul has 
now gone before the judgment seat of Him who gave 
it, while the body mingles with the dust of Mother 
Earth, from whence it came. 

A few years ago — it may be a few months ago — 
sickness, the dread precursor of death, entered your 
home. Who can picture your feelings, bordering 
almost on despair, when the awful truth dawned upon 
you, and you began slowly to realize the full mean- 
ing of that visitation ? For days and weeks, perhaps, 
you hoped against hope. You looked with unspeak- 
able sadness to medical science for encouragement ; 
you stood nearer the sufferer's side or knelt close to 
the dying bed. Touching scene ! 

Oh ! how you longed, then, to soften that dull, 
racking pain ! How you tried, then, but tried in vain, 
to cool that tongue parched by the burning fever ! 
How you then labored, but labored in vain, to ease 
that heavy breathing, so fitly called the prelude of 
dissolution ! 



202 Father Walsh 

And when the last sigh had gone forth, when the 
silver cord of life had been broken, and the spirit of 
the loved one had flown heavenward to its Creator, 
oh ! how you fixed, even then, your sorrow-clouded 
eyes upon the cold lips, sealed in death, and sought 
from them a last word, or a message that never came ! 

Did I say, message that never came ? My breth- 
ren, it did come, but you heard it not, because of 
your great grief. It has come, every day, perhaps 
for years, but you fail to hear it, because grief has 
now been superseded by worldly concerns, and sor- 
row has given place to forgetfulness or indifference. 
And what is that message to you and to me, especially 
at this season of the year, when we are drawing near 
to the dawn of another November — the month of the 
suffering dead ? It is contained in the words of our 
text : " Have pity on me, have pity on me, at least 
you, my friends, for the hand of the Lord hath 
touched me." Our friends, our brothers, our sis- 
ters, our parents, are in pain, and to us they turn 
beseechingly for help. 

In the name of affection, in the name of grati- 
tude, in the name of charity, do not turn a deaf ear 
to such an appeal. Think of the happy past. Oh ! 
how, at its mention, says the poet, memory turns her 
pages old and pleasant. Everything around us re- 
calls it. The homes we visit, the houses we occupy, 
the property we enjoy, the very name we bear, all 
should be, it seems to me, so many perpetual re- 
minders not only of past kindnesses, but also of 
present distress. 

We know, dearly beloved in Christ, that the 
guilt and eternal punishment incurred by the com- 
mission of mortal sin are wiped away in and by the 
Sacrament of Penance. That there still remains a 
temporal punishment to be undergone, either in this 
world or the world to come, is an article of Faith ; 
for St. Paul says : ' ' Souls shall be saved yet so as 
by fire." 



Sermons 203 

Of the nature of the fire we know nothing. We 
may, however, infer that the suffering caused by it 
is excruciating, beyond the power of words to ex- 
press, since only the purest souls are worthy of God, 
and nothing defiled can enter the kingdom of heaven. 
Nor do we wonder that such a thought has been able 
to reclaim countless sinners, only to make them 
countless saints. Indeed, not a few of God's ser- 
vants were led by a holy fear of the chastening 
flames to retire into deserts, where they endeavored, 
by the greatest austerities, to satisfy as far as pos- 
sible the Divine justice, ere death had placed its seal 
upon their brows. 

Naturally, we look upon such death-beds as 
beacon-lights of heaven, and we treasure up their 
last words as we would messages from above. But 
what were their last words ? What was the last re- 
quest made by many among the saints ? It was to 
ask as a favor, the prayers and suffrages of those 
whom they called their friends. 

When St. Monica, the mother of St. Augustine, 
fell sick at Ostium, it gave her little concern where 
her body would be buried ; but to her son, who stood 
by her bedside weeping, she said : ' ' All I ask of you 
is that you remember me at the altar of God.'' 

My brethren, the same appeal will come to us 
from the fiery furnace of purgatory, especially dur- 
ing the month of November. To some, it will come 
from once indulgent parents ; to others, from loving 
children ; to one, from a kind-hearted brother ; to 
another, from a once affectionate sister. In the 
name of the faithful departed, therefore, I ask you, 
their friends, will you not have pity on them and 
help them ? 

There was a time, as we have already said, when 
it would have afforded you untold happiness to re- 
lieve their distress ; but then you were powerless to 
assist them in the least. To-day, however, relief is 
in your hands. 



204 Father Walsh 

In the days of the Blessed Lord, there was in 
Jerusalem a certain pool of water, around which the 
sick and the suffering from bodily diseases were 
accustomed to congregate. At certain times an 
angel came down from heaven and stirred the 
waters, and the sick man who was the first to go into 
the pool after the visit of the angel was cured of his 
infirmity. 

One day our Divine Saviour was passing by that 
pool, and He saw, sitting near its edge, a man who 
seemed quite helpless. Moved with compassion at 
the sight of such misery, our dear Lord approached 
the sufferer and inquired of him why he did not avail 
himself of the blessing which God had at times given 
to the water. The poor man, drawing a deep sigh, 
full of sadness, replied: " Master, for eight and 
thirty years I have dragged myself here, hoping that, 
day after day, like others, I would soon be cured of 
my infirmity. But I have hoped in vain ; others 
were stronger than I, or they had friends to help 
them, and they went down into the water and were 
healed. As for me, I have no man who, when the 
water has been stirred, will cast me into the pool." 

Oh ! my brethren, was there ever a sadder story 
told in fewer words ? For thirty-eight years this 
man bore his infirmity, when he might have been re- 
lieved had he had one kind friend to assist him. For 
thirty-eight years he waited— the certain remedy 
before his eyes — and none— no, not one to help him to 
avail himself of its efficacy. For thirty-eight years 
he begged of the by-standers to aid him, but, fact 
almost incredible, he begged in vain, till one day a 
good Samaritan, Our Lord Jesus Christ, came and 
cured him. No doubt you condemn the heartlessness 
of this unfortunate man's friends ; or, if he had no 
friends, you reprobate the hard-heartedness of the 
inhabitants of Jerusalem. But, right here, it would 
be well for many of us to heed the injunction of 



Sermons 205 

Christ, and let him who is without fault cast the first 
stone. 

There is a land of pain beyond the grave, my 
brethren ; and in that land lies many a friend of 
yours whom your heart cannot forget ; persons whose 
friendship you once enjoyed, whose voices and whose 
faces were once familiar to you in days gone by ; who 
were, perhaps, members of the same household, who 
worked at your side during the week, and on Sun- 
day, knelt by your side at the same altar of God. 
They died, and are now in purgatory. They now 
suffer more than bodily pain, and beg of you to help 
them ; but you— their friends — you pass by heedless, 
or forgetful, or indifferent, it matters little which— 
you pass by, and you give no help. 

If Christian charity still burns in your hearts, I 
feel that help will be forthcoming, and that you will 
look upon my feeble words as faint echoes of the 
cries that ascend daily from the prison-house of the 
suffering souls. Let us be generous, brethren ; let 
us do something for the faithful departed, especially 
on next Wednesday and every day during November. 
Let us remember them in our charities and in our 
daily prayers ; let us remember them in our good 
works ; let us remember them in our Holy Commu- 
nions ; and above all, let us think tenderly of them at 
the holy sacrifice of the mass, as often as we shall 
have the blessed privilege of assisting at it. 



TWENTIETH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

"Himself believes and his whole house/' 
— John iv, 46. 

Dearly Beloved Brethren : 

The doctrine preached by our Blessed Lord may 
be summed up in three words : Faith, Hope, and 
Charity. 



206 Father Walsh 

These virtues, like seed sown in fertile soil, have 
been infused into our hearts and souls in order that we 
might work out a noble destiny, or, to use a thought 
of St. Paul, "in order that we might bring forth fruit 
unto salvation." Would that man had justified the 
expectations of his Maker, and the hopes of Him 
who left undone nothing that could in any manner 
contribute to a generous harvest. But, alas ! the 
human heart proved to be stony ground, ungrateful 
soil. For once, at least, effort and time and care 
had found unproduction ; nor have we far to go for 
the one real cause : sin has ever been near and around 
us, and sin, as we know, is not only the blight of all 
promise, but also the curse of the soul itself, that 
sacred soil upon which virtue alone buds and blos- 
soms. 

We need no further argument to convince us of 
the truth of this assertion than the well-known 
though sad history of the human family, which may 
be told in a few words. Created for the noble pur- 
pose of knowing, loving, and serving Him, man re- 
ceived from God the gifts of Faith, Hope, and Charity. 
But, in a moment of weakness, our first parents 
sinned, and the result of their awful transgression 
was that they and their immediate descendants were 
plunged into an ocean of moral degradation. For 
four thousand years and more the world had little 
faith, less hope, and no charity. Virtue was well- 
nigh dead. Men had strayed away from the path 
marked out for them by their Creator, and they con- 
tinued to wander in the mazes of spiritual darkness 
until the happy advent of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Who 
was the Light and Life of the fallen world. 

Enlightened by Him, God's favored creatures be- 
gan to see more clearly. They listened, and lo ! they 
recognized the voice of a Divine Teacher. Revela- 
tion quickly followed revelation, like flashes of light- 
ning in a clouded sky, and the world was soon seated 



Sermons 207 

at the feet of Christ, where, under the magic of His 
eloquence, and from the warmth of His tender, truly 
loving heart, virtue lifted its drooping head, and faith 
in the Deity once more revived in the human heart. 
Thanks to the watchful eye and tireless efforts of 
Holy Church, the precious legacy of faith, once de- 
livered to the saints, has been handed down to us 
from generation to generation. Our faithful fore- 
fathers cherished it in adversity as well as in pros- 
perity, and, dying, taught us that its fairest flower 
and best test is a loving trust and confidence in the 
goodness and mercy and power of Christ. 

To measure, brethren, the depth and strength of 
the confidence which animated the members of the 
primitive Christian Church, we have only to recall to 
mind the heroism of the martyrs and to read the his- 
tory of the lives of the saints. And then what a 
wealth of forcible facts, what scores of striking 
scenes, illustrating the spirit of faith, do we not find 
in the Gospels and Epistles of the inspired writers ! 

A most pathetic instance of filial confidence in 
Christ is recorded in the Gospel of St. Matthew, who 
relates that a certain Canaan woman came to Jesus, 
and, falling at His sacred feet, earnestly besought 
Him to restore her daughter to health. At first the 
anxious mother's pleadings were all in vain ; her 
presence seemed very like an intrusion ; a second 
attempt to interest the Saviour in her sorrow was no 
more successful than the first ; but, nothing daunted, 
she pressed forward the third time, when Christ, 
deeply impressed by her trustful persistency, granted 
her prayer, saying : "0 woman, great is thy faith ; 
be it done to thee as thou wilt." 

But why, dearly beloved brethren, go beyond 
this Sunday's Gospel for an exemplar of perfect 
confidence in the power and goodness of God ? The 
sacred text tells us, to-day, of a rich ruler who came 
to Jesus, seeking for his son a respite from suffering 



208 Father Walsh 

and a new lease of life ; for his child was then lying 
at the point of death. Imagine, if you can, brethren, 
the deep, heartfelt emotion with which that father 
had set out on his journey into Judea ; he knew there 
were breaking hearts at home ; he realized that at 
that very moment, perhaps, the supreme struggle 
with death was going on in the sick room at Caphar- 
naum, and he trembled as he thought of the flushed 
face and parched lips and feeble breathings of his 
beloved child. 

Sorrow and anguish like the centurion's can be 
understood only by the members of a household who 
have taken in theirs the pulseless hand of a loved 
one, or knelt round the bed of the suffering, looking 
down into the eyes over which death is already 
holding its impenetrable veil. You parents who have 
given back to God the flower of the home circle, you 
can appreciate the feelings of that sorrowful father, 
and gladly would you, if you could, stay the blow 
that turns for the time being the world into a veri- 
table vale of tears, and life into a martyrdom. But 
this cannot be. Human sympathy is frequently little 
less than a confession of weakness, for to God alone 
belongs the power of life and death. He gives, and 
He takes away. He strikes, and He it is Who spares ; 
He tries the human heart, and in time of need He 
strengthens us. 

For the most part, brethren, the visitations from 
above are extremely painful ; would that they were, 
proportionately, teaching us to recognize in them so 
many providential acts designed to lead us to the foot 
of the altar and the cross, and there to say, as did a 
saintly soul : " Lord, Thou canst do all things, and 
Thou canst heal my sorrows." Can we doubt this 
blessed truth, brethren ? Men of little faith do doubt 
it. Will we, then, ape their incredulity ? God for- 
bid. When affliction comes, let us think of the cen- 
turion, remembering how he hastened off to seek the 



Sermons 209 

Saviour, the only physician, the only power capable 
of restoring health and strength to his beloved child. 
See how kindly the Son of God receives him, how 
consolingly He speaks to him and assures him of the 
success of his mission : "Go, thy son liveth." 

What a magnificent record for faith and trust in 
God ! That such a miracle should bring spiritual health 
and strength to many souls was not to be wondered 
at. The centurion and his family could not believe. 
Others, too, accepted the teachings of our Blessed 
Lord ; for His love, His compassion, and His power, 
thus made manifest in the healing of the sick and 
dying child, was too forcible an argument to be ig- 
nored or resisted. But let us come nearer home and 
ask ourselves : ' ' What effect has that miracle had on 
us ? " We ask this question for a purpose— to warn 
you against the fatal mistake of dismissing the 
whole narrative, much as we would dismiss a legend 
that has long since ceased to interest us and our age. 
Woe to them who presume thus lightly to brush 
aside the lessons of a Divine Teacher ; who forget 
that wholesome things are written, have been writ- 
ten, for our instruction. Woe to them, I say, who 
lose sight of the fact that Christ lived, and labored, 
and breathed, for all peoples and for all times. 

Therefore, the question of questions to-day is : 
Have we the faith of the centurion ? Is our trust 
in the power and the goodness of God like His — 
strong, open, simple, practical ? We are ready to 
believe, brethren, that you have faith in the same 
Christ Who, nearly two thousand years ago, restored 
strength to the wasted body of the centurion's son ; 
but have you the same confidence that the Son of 
God will hear and help you in the time of trial, even 
as He heard and helped the ruler of Capharnaum in 
the day of his sorrow ? We doubt it, brethren, for 
faith and trust and confidence are not precisely dis- 
tinguishing marks of this age. Nowadays, material- 



210 Father Walsh 

ism rules the world, and the world is fast relegating 
all "dependence on God" to the realms of supersti- 
tion. In this twentieth century, men are prone to 
believe more in themselves than in supernatural 
principles ; in all their undertakings, in all their 
successes and failures, in all their afflictions, in all 
the crises of life, they rely almost entirely on their 
own resources and on their own strength, thus 
showing the littleness of their faith by a want of 
loving confidence in the Divine assistance. 

In the Gospel of this Sunday our Blessed Lord 
indirectly censures such a course, and reminds us 
that He is at all times our refuge and our strength. 
He points to the fact that His promise to help and 
hear us is too well known, and too clearly sub- 
stantiated, to be called into question. Finally, He 
tells us that the passing years bring no shadow of 
change to Him, and that He is to-day what He was 
yesterday— the same Almighty Father Who, in other 
times, caused the blind to see, the lame to walk, the 
dumb to speak, the deaf to hear, and the dead to 
rise again. 

Now, careless, thoughtless Catholics may say : 
1 We are not afflicted. On the contrary, we are 
fairly happy and prosperous, and consequently there 
is no reason for us seeking out Christ, as did the 
centurion of old." While such an assertion maybe 
true from a natural and material standpoint, few will 
fail to see it in another and different light when they 
come to consider the superior side of our nature, and 
take into account our spiritual infirmities and spiri- 
tual necessities. There is more to think of than the 
things of time ; there is more to trouble us than the 
worries of this world. Who among you can bear 
alone the memory of a life of wrong-doing ? Who 
among you can face unaided the judgments of God ? 

And which of you is without sin ? Ah, brethren, 
there is a disorder, there is a disease, the treatment 



Sermons 211 

and the cure of which call for the skill, the power, 
the hand of God Himself. If, therefore, looking into 
your soul, you find there the symptoms of sin, lose no 
time in hastening to the feet of Christ. Recall the 
words of Holy David, and cry out: "0 Lord, have 
mercy on me, for I am sick ; hear me, for I am trou- 
bled.' ' In the sacrament of forgiveness, where 
Jesus may be found, you shall receive what you ask, 
and find what you seek, namely — spiritual health 
and strength ; for to each humble penitent the great 
and good Physician says : " Child, be of good heart ; 
thy sins are forgiven thee." "Go thy way; thy 
soul liveth." 

Fortunately or unfortunately, the remedy is 
within your reach. You who refuse to avail your- 
selves of it, thereby acknowledge more concern, more 
solicitude, for the things of time than for the happi- 
ness of eternity. You are less courageous, less 
earnest, less Christian, than was the centurion. In- 
deed, in a certain sense, you deny Christ ; for the 
asking of absolution is the highest proof and pro- 
fession of our confidence ; it is, as we have already 
stated, the measure and the test of our faith. 

Dearly beloved in Christ, we want not a new 
faith, but more of the old faith, more of the trustful, 
confident kind. We must learn to lean more on God, 
and less on ourselves and our self-sufficiency. Then 
we must resolve to use aright the Sacrament of 
Penance ; for in that holy sacrament alone is to be 
found the mysterious, supernatural power which 
conquers the diseases of the soul, checks the fever of 
sin, and soothes the sorrows born of vice. There- 
fore, seek the Saviour in His Church, and you will 
go away rejoicing and gladly praising God, Who still 
works miracles of love, and still brings back to life 
souls that were once lying at the point of death. 



212 Father Walsh 

TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

From to-day's Gospel we learn, dearly beloved 
brethren, the lesson of faith and confidence in the 
power, the goodness, and the mercy of Christ. 

We are told that a rich ruler came to Jesus with 
a request to go down to Capharnaum and cure his 
son, who was lying at the point of death. Human 
remedies had failed, human skill had proved power- 
less. Already the supreme struggle with death was 
going on in the sick room, when suddenly, the name 
of the Great Physician, Jesus Christ, flashed across 
the mind of the grief -stricken father, who deter- 
mined to go into Galilee at once and seek His sym- 
pathy and His services. 

And when the ruler came nigh to the Saviour, 
this is what the Son of God said to him : "Go thy 
way; thy son liveth." What a magnificent reward 
paid to loving trust and confidence in the goodness 
of the Most High ! What a lesson for us, dearly 
beloved brethren ! Henceforth we must bear in mind 
that we must look higher than earth, higher than 
friends, for true sympathy and consolation in afflic- 
tion. Let us bear in mind, too, that our afflictions, 
our diseases, our infirmities, may be of the soul as 
well as of the body. 

Oh ! if, after looking into your souls, you find 
there any sin, consider yourselves as lying at the 
point of death, and that your only hope lies in having 
recourse to Jesus in the Sacrament of Penance, Who 
alone can save you and bring you back to the life of 
grace. Therefore, in all your afflictions, spiritual and 
temporal, have faith and confidence in the power of 
the Saviour, for He is still the same good and mighty 
God Who, in other times, caused the blind to see, the 
lame to walk, the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak. 

Trust in Him, and tears will turn into smiles, 
and misery into happiness. 



Sermons 213 

TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY AFTER 
PENTECOST. 

1 ' Render unto God the things that are 
God's."— Matt, xxii, 21. 

Dearly Beloved Brethren : 

Nothing could be more just and reasonable than 
the precept laid down by our Blessed Lord in these 
words of our text : ' ' Render unto God the things 
that are God's." 

Reason as we may, we must needs recognize the 
sacredness of the right which every person has to his 
own, to his property, to the product of his physical, 
intellectual or creative ability. We must recognize 
such a claim, I say, or else stand convicted before the 
whole world of a sacrilegious attempt to subvert 
social order and moral law. If proofs be wanting to 
place this principle beyond the province of doubt, we 
have only to appeal to our own innate sense of justice 
and to our own common interests. 

If a man, by his industry and economy, succeeds 
in purchasing a home, or in accumulating a com- 
petency, to whom does that home or that competency 
belong by every right ? Evidently to him who labored 
for their acquisition. Again, let the human intellect 
succeed in formulating a new and practical theory. 
To whom does the honor, if any, accruing from it 
belong ? Undoubtedly to him who first advanced it. 
Or let what we call "genius," fathoming the depths 
of human nature, bring forth some invention useful 
to the human race. To whom does the benefit of it, 
by right, belong ? To him who first discovered the 
secret. 

Now, my brethren, what is true in the natural, is 
also true in the supernatural order. Right may be 
divine as well as human. The intelligence and power 
of the Supreme Being have wrought countless won- 
ders. We meet them at every step. By His will and 



214 Father Walsh 

word God called into existence the thousand things of 
beauty, and the thousand things of loveliness, which 
even this fallen world of ours still preserves. To whose 
name and to whose glory, therefore, and to whose 
service, should the credit of all these things be given ? 
We answer : To their Maker's. They are His, for He 
made them. "The earth is the Lord's, and the full- 
ness thereof, the world, and all that dwells therein," 
says the Inspired Writer. Hence, it is evident, my 
dear brethren, that we, too, belong to God, because 
we are part and parcel of His creation. We are His 
images, His coins, His properties, or, as St. Paul has 
it, ' ' He is our Master and we are His servants. ' ' To 
God, therefore, belongs every title to our services ; 
and Christ is simply insisting on His right when He 
says : "Render unto God the things that are God's.' ' 
And here is suggested to every thoughtful mind 
a very simple, but withal a very momentous question : 
How are we fulfilling this precept ? My brethren, 
we shall not, for we cannot, answer accurately. The 
most we can do is to exhort degenerate Christians, 
and they are not few, to go and learn wisdom and the 
lesson of duty from creatures less favored than them- 
selves. See the myriad worlds around us ; they have 
no understanding to know their Maker, no will to love 
Him ; yet they are all paying a loyal and an unceas- 
ing tribute of praise to His name and to His glory. 
All visible nature is obedient to His laws. The still 
and the sunny day have, it is true, no tongues with 
which to tell His gratitude. Yet the very calm of the 
one, and the radiance of the other, bear eloquent 
though silent testimony of the greatness of the Most 
High. The morning stars, says Holy Job, praise Him 
together. The birds of the air, the beasts of the pas- 
ture, the flowers of the field, and the fishes of the 
sea, adore Him in and through generous and noble 
hearts ; for in the presence and the sight of so many 
gracious gifts, noble hearts are moved to their very 



Sermons 215 

depths, and generous souls are sweetly attuned to the 
music of Divine love. 

Oh ! my brethren, would that all God's children 
might be induced to learn the lesson of duty as taught 
them by God's inferior creatures. Then, indeed, 
would His right to us, and to our service, find full 
recognition and adequate expression in all our lives. 
In other words, we would learn to love and serve the 
Lord, and Him alone, and end in perfect accord with 
the plan divine. St. Augustine says: "We were 
made for God ; therefore, we may not serve another 
master, for if we dare do so, then we defraud Him 
of His acknowledged rights, and refuse to "render 
unto God the things that are God's." 

It is the aim of the world, my dear brethren, to 
enlist us in its hard and thankless service. It strives 
to attract our attention and to win our admiration, 
that it may spoil our God-given faculties and waste 
them on things that fade and perish in the bitter end. 
This is the experience of every-day life. For every 
day we see Christians and Catholics, redeemed by the 
precious blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, turning away 
from the Creator to creatures. We see them, I say, 
seeking pleasure and happiness where they never 
can be found, spending their lives and the powers of 
their souls upon the world and its vanities, upon the 
flesh and its allurements, in the service of sin and 
Satan, who will rejoice at their folly when life is 
done, or leave them in their old age, desolate and 
despicable, amid the ruins of their wasted years. 

If we could look into the sinner's soul, my breth- 
ren, we would see nothing but a mutilated coin, a coin 
from which God's image has been well-nigh effaced. 
Surely this is an awful crime, the malice of which is 
heightened beyond measure by the fact that the de- 
struction of the soul's grace and beauty is ofttimes 
the work of those whom God has most richly blessed. 
What, in truth, do we do when we sin against the 



216 Father Walsh 

Lord ? Remember, brethren, I do not ask this ques- 
tion of heathens — a people to whom God's name is 
unknown, a people who have no light to guide them, 
no sacraments to strengthen them. No ; I ask you — 
you, who have been placed in the true Church of 
Christ ; you, who have sworn allegiance to God in 
baptism ; you, who have knelt before His altar and 
received His sacraments, those precious pledges of 
eternal love,— I ask you, what have you done when 
you offended God by sin ? 

Did you deny or forget His existence ? Indeed, 
you did worse than that. You recognized His exist- 
ence by your admiration of the works of His hand ; 
you admitted His goodness by accepting His graces ; 
you attested by the sacraments, which you once fre- 
quently and fervently received, that He was the 
author of virtue ; and then going forth, like Judas, 
you betrayed Him. You cast off His sweet yoke, you 
refused to serve Him, and to render unto Him the 
things that are His. 

To His children, my brethren, God looks for ser- 
vice and for love, to which both creation and redemp- 
tion entitle Him. By our fidelity to the command- 
ments we might easily manifest our eagerness to act 
justly, and to preserve in all its pristine beauty the 
image of the Most High in our souls. But, no ; the 
sinner will not be counselled ; he will not be turned 
back to the path of duty. He must continue to sin. 
It will not be thus always. Some day, in God's good 
time, Jesus Christ, the Supreme Judge of the living 
and the dead, will demand an account of the sinner. 
The moment death severs the silver chord of life, 
that moment the Creator will ask, in tones of thun- 
der: " Where is the coin of the tribute? Where is 
the soul ? ' ' 

And if it be discovered, on that awful day, that 
the affections of our hearts and the powers of our 
souls have been consecrated by us to purposes for 



Sermons 217 

which they were never intended ; if it be discovered 
on that day of calamity, that we served another 
master than God, then His justice will cast us aside 
as failures and mistakes, as coins mutilated beyond 
recognition. 

Therefore, let him or her who is living in sin, 
open or secret, take warning ere it is too late ; let 
him or her who is tempted to lead a careless, in- 
different life, take heed ere it is too late, and pray 
piously and confidently, asking for every necessary 
grace ; for remember, my brethren, it is by the Divine 
grace alone that we shall be enabled to fight the good 
fight, and to "render unto God the things that are 
God's." 

TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER 
PENTECOST. 

"And they shall see the Son of Man com- 
ing in the clouds of heaven with much power 
and majesty." — Matt, xxiv, 30. 

Dearly Beloved Brethren : 

In its incessant and measured march, time has 
brought us once more to the closing weeks of another 
ecclesiastical year. 

It need not be said that such a time as this is 
naturally invested with unusual solemnity, that it 
suggests to the Christian mind thoughts as serious as 
they are salutary. Who can think of the flight of 
time, and still remain indifferent to the thought that 
we are passing away with it ? Who can reflect on 
the failings and faults of the past, and still stand out 
solidly against both the warnings of reason and re- 
ligion ? Do we receive the grace of God in vain ? 
Is human existence without responsibility, and 
human life without eternal hope ? Is there to be 
demanded of us no account of our stewardship ? 



218 Father Walsh 

Will virtue go ofttimes unknown and unrewarded, 
while vice sits unblushing in high places or stalks 
triumphantly through the land ? Will might be 
right always ? In a word, is there to be no judg- 
ment to right the wrongs done to God, to our neigh- 
bors, and to ourselves ? 

Oh ! well does the world know the truth. Of 
course, the world can deceive its votaries ; it can, 
and does, lull fools to fatal sleep ; but from time to 
time even the world must bow down and make its 
profession of faith ; it, too, must say with the Cath- 
olic Church: "Credo, " "I believe in Jesus Christ, 
Who now sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father 
Almighty, from thence He shall come to judge the 
living and the dead." To reject this article of the 
Christian faith, to doubt of a day of reckoning, is to 
deny reason itself, to destroy conscience, and to con- 
trovert the most solemn sayings of Inspiration. 

St. Paul tells the Hebrews : * ' It is appointed for 
all men once to die— and after death, the judgment." 
The author of the Acts of the Apostles assures us 
that God hath appointed a day in which He shall 
judge the world in righteousness, Nor is the fact of 
a future judgment known only to the New Dispensa- 
tion. Thousands of years before the coming of the 
Messiah, the Prophet of Israel penned those signi- 
ficant words: "I shall distress men," saith the Al- 
mighty, "because they have sinned against the Most 
High, and neither their gold nor their silver shall de- 
liver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord." 

How very like in sense and coloring are the pro- 
phetic pen-picture and that portion of St. Matthew's 
Gospel from which we have taken the words of our 
text ! Both are strong and sublime expressions of the 
same eternal truth— with this difference : in the New 
Testament Jesus Christ delineates with a master-like 
hand the smallest details of the world's last agony — 
that fearful preliminary to man's appearance before 



Sermons 219 

the tribunal of Divine Justice. He says "that the 
sun shall be darkened, that the moon shall not give 
her light, that the very stars shall fall from the 
firmament. ' ' " Then shall the powers of the heavens 
be moved : and then shall all the tribes of the earth 
mourn." For, looking up, their eyes, already heavy 
with the mists of death, shall behold two strong 
sights. They shall see : first, the sign of the Son 
of Man, and then they shall see the Son of Man 
Himself, coming in a cloud, with great power and 
majesty. 

And why coming in a cloud with great power 
and majesty ? Evidently to vindicate truth and 
virtue ; to convince the world of sin, of justice, and 
of judgment ; to render to every man according to 
his works. Has this great truth, brethren, no mean- 
ing for us ? Recall, Christian soul, the record of 
your days, and doings, and tell us : Will all be well 
with you in eternity ? Look into your lives, Catholic 
men and women, and read there the findings of the 
all-seeing and the all-searching eye of God. St. 
James says : " So speak ye and so do, as they that 
shall be judges by the law of liberty.' ' Take the 
Gospel — the law of liberty— and prove to the whole 
court of heaven, and to an assembled universe, that 
you have been grateful to God for every grace, true 
to every trust, faithful to every responsibility. 

To every member of the human family has been 
given almost infinite possibilities of usefulness and 
untold opportunities for good. Let us, individually, 
point out if we can, the results of the fruits of such 
possibilities and such opportunities. On the last day, 
brethren, some souls shall see written on the lumi- 
nous sign of the Son of Man, heaven's highest ap- 
proval of their humble efforts ; and St. Paul is our 
authority for saying that ' ' some souls shall be saved 
yet so as by fire." But (and this is the saddest of 
all sad thoughts) there are immortal souls, not a few, 



220 Father Walsh 

who shall be made to feel on the day of retribution 
the failure of their Creator and the justice of a just 
judge. In the wreck and ruin of a wicked world 
they shall read their own fate, and by the lurid 
light of expiring nature they shall see written in the 
heavens the sentence of their own condemnation. 

No wonder, dearly beloved in Christ, that such 
thoughts as judgment and eternal reprobation have 
brought multitudes of repentant sinners to the 
Saviour's side ; no wonder Holy David wept at the 
memory of his sins, crying out: "Have mercy on 
me, God, according to Thy great mercy ; " no won- 
der Mary Magdalen bathed in her tears the sacred 
feet of Jesus Christ ; no wonder St. Augustine told 
to the whole world the story of his excesses. They 
calculated, no doubt, that their tears and their mis- 
takes, known to all men, might prove to be, for all 
time to come, not only touching testimonials of 
God's boundless mercy, but also perpetual reminders 
of hell's unquenchable fire, while they feared with a 
holy fear. 

And the fact that the world is no better to-day for 
their tears and their mistakes, is not their fault, but 
ours. It is because we love the danger ; it is because 
we love darkness better than light ; it is because we 
do not appreciate the value of time, or the nature 
and need of Divine grace ; it is because we are 
dreaming life away, like the poor uncivilized savages 
of Africa, of whom travellers speak so pathetically. 
In a word, our disregard of spiritual warnings, and 
our indifference to the fact of the coming judg- 
ment, are directly traceable to a want of sincere, 
earnest, intelligent thought. "With desolation is 
the whole earth made desolate,' ' says the Inspired 
Writer, ' ' because there is none that thinketh in his 
heart." 

Yes ; a little honest thinking is all we need, 
dearly beloved brethren, to save us from a desolation 



Sermons 221 

and a destruction that have no parallel in human 
history. For thought and meditation alone can afford 
us a true insight into the ordeal that awaits us on the 
judgment day. Therefore, let us consider a few 
characteristics of Him who shall judge the world in 
righteousness. Our ideas of a judge and justice are 
necessarily incorrect ; for God's ways are not our 
ways, nor are His thoughts our though ts." We 
have, and ought to have, the profoundest respect for 
those who wear worthily the judicial robes ; but we 
must not forget that the exponents of human law 
are, like ourselves, only men, and consequently liable 
to error. They may be deceived. Their judgment 
may be appealed from, and even reversed. It is not 
the same with Jesus Christ, the searcher of hearts, 
the Judge of Judges. He never errs, neither can 
He be deceived by lying criminals or perjured testi- 
mony ; and from His decision there is and can be no 
appeal. "Where the tree falleth, there shall it lie 
forever." 

Another consideration is this : In our human 
courts, the case of an accused depends largely on the 
number and influence of friends. Justice is too often 
meted out, not according to the enormity of the 
crime committed, but rather with an eye to friendly 
services or future good-will. This travesty of equity 
justifies the saying. We regret, brethren, to make 
such an assertion, and yet it is true ; and so is it 
true to say that in this world of ours there is one 
law for the rich and influential, and another for the 
poor and friendless. Thank God, this state of things 
must give place to the findings of a court higher 
than any earthly tribunal. For justice, thus insulted 
and prostituted, is bound to be, and will be, vindi- 
cated. There is coming a day when the lowly and 
the great ones of this earth must stand on the same 
level, and before a Judge who knows no friends save 
those who have kept His law, and no enemies save 
those of "the cross of Christ." 



222 Father Walsh 

"Enemies of the cross of Christ ! " Why, who 
and what are they, methinks I hear you ask ? Are 
there any enemies of the cross of Christ among 
Catholics ? Truth compels us to answer, Yes. Are 
there any in this parish ? Yes, scores of them. Are 
there any in this congregation ? Would, brethren, 
that there were none. To say that there are none 
would be to say that there are no sinners among us, 
and it would be to say that we can deceive Him Who 
shall "search Jerusalem with lamps/ ' Would that 
each one of you could say, "Thy commandment, 
Lord, have I kept from my youth.' ' Were we able 
to say this, then might we claim there are no enemies 
of the cross of Christ among you. But how many of 
you can say it ? How many of you have always 
loved the Lord's law ? How many of you are now 
keeping faithfully the commandments of God and 
of God's Church ? Can you, indifferent, lukewarm, 
fair-weather Catholics, you who wilfully omit to hear 
mass on Sundays and holydays ? No ; you cannot 
be the friends, so you are the enemies of the cross of 
Christ. Can you, drunken fathers, and you, neglect- 
ful mothers, who are doing all in your power to damn 
the immortal souls of your children, can you say that 
you respect the law of Christian charity ? No ; and 
therefore you have become the enemies of your 
Saviour. Can you, foolish young women, who have 
stifled the voice of conscience and trampled under 
foot the advice of a prudent confessor, to listen to the 
insinuating, smooth words and seductive promises of 
some incarnate devil, can you say that you are loving 
and keeping the law of your Divine Teacher and of 
decency ? No ; and so you, too, may be classed 
among the castaways— the enemies of the cross of 
Christ. Can you, wealthy criminals, you who plun- 
der the public, rob and oppress the poor, can you say 
that you have even a little reverence for living up to 
the law of Justice ? No ; consequently, remember 



Sermons 223 

you are not the friends of God, but His enemies. 
And although your money may buy and debauch 
human judges and jurymen, bear in mind that up 
there you shall be distressed on the last day, saith 
the Almighty, and neither your gold nor your silver 
"shall deliver you in the day of the wrath of the 
Lord." 

I might go on in this strain, dearly beloved 
brethren, but I shall not tax your patience further. 
Only let me say to the enemies of the cross of Christ, 
here or elsewhere— to all who are in mortal sin : 
" Beware ! You are dangerously near to the brink of 
the bottomless pit ; dangerously near to the damned 
house of the doomed, over whose portals might be 
fitly written these words : ' ' All ye who enter here, 
leave hope behind/ ' For out of here there is no re- 
demption. If you are wise, rational beings, you will 
say to yourself and to the world : Long enough have 
I scorned the precepts of my Maker ; long enough 
have I played the hypocrite ; long enough have I in- 
sulted and betrayed the God of sanctity and justice ; 
long enough have I indulged my shameful appetites 
and my nameless passions ; long enough have I loved 
and served strange gods. I will rise up and go back 
to my Father's home, to my Father's arms, to my 
Father's love. 

Holy Writ says that the love of God caste th out 
fear. Repenting sinners need not despair when the 
Lo^d sends forth His angels with trumpets and a 
loud voice, to summon sleeping generations to judg- 
ment. They need not call upon the mountains to fall 
and screen them from the gaze of an angry God ; for, 
by perfect contrition, by a sincere confession, and by 
a firm purpose of amendment, our sins, even though 
they be as numerous as they are, shall be blotted out 
and wiped away and made as white as snow, so that 
if they persevere unto the end in the love and service 
of the Master, throughout eternity, their place will 



224 Father Walsh 

be at the right of the Redeemer, and their lot among 
the saints. 

If, however, sinners continue to sin, and to scorn 
alike the warnings and the promises of Jesus Christ, 
they should not and cannot expect aught else but 
eternal rejection from God, and eternal separation 
from those who once loved them, and whom they 
loved in days agone. My brethren, there are, in this 
life, as we all know, sad partings and heartrending 
separations. We have seen, for instance, the poor 
immigrant saying farewell to aged parents, and 
turning away perhaps forever from the scenes of his 
childhood. As we recall such scenes, the loving 
heart did struggle against grief until it was bruised 
and all but broken by the never-to-be-forgotten good- 
bye. Again, we have seen more than once cruel 
death invade the household and take from the family 
circle the brightest and the fairest flower. Oh ! how 
unutterable was the grief of father and mother, 
sister and brother, as they stood by the side of the 
open grave— the deep, dark, damp grave that was 
to hide away for all time the form and the face of 
their loved ones, the object of their tenderest affec- 
tions. Well, these are but a few of life's sad partings 
and separations ; and, after all, what are they com- 
pared to the partings and separations that must take 
place on the great day of retribution ? To the eter- 
nal separation of the just from the unjust, of the 
saint from the sinner, of the good from the bad, of 
parents from children, of sisters from brothers ? 

Among the friends of God will be a venerable 
and pious mother, who, dying, left to her daughter 
the priceless legacy of a holy life. Among the 
enemies of the Saviour will be, perhaps, that same 
daughter, who bartered away her inheritance for 
some brutal passion. To the right of the Redeemer 
we shall see an honest and honorable father, a man 
who earned and ate his bread in the sweat of his 



Sermons 225 

brow ; to the left of the Judge will stand that man's 
son — the self-confessed thief, who preferred a life of 
ease, bought at the expense of honor and honesty. 

Here we shall recognize the Spouse of Christ— 
the young woman who left father and mother, home 
and kindred, for religion's sake. There we shall see, 
trembling, the young worlding, whose heaven was a 
questionable dance-hall, and whose highest ambition 
in life was to marry, or as the world says, marry 
well, even though marriage did mean the sacrificing 
of her faith, the selling of her immortal birthright. 
Among the elect will be the earnest, sincere, prac- 
tical Catholic, the man who respected the precepts of 
God's Church and received the sacraments at least 
once in a year. Among the castaways will be the 
nominal Catholic, the man whose sinful habits or 
sinful associations blocked his way to the Holy Table. 

One word more, brethren, and I have done. 
Stand in spirit before your Judge. Imagine that He 
has now, finally and forever, convinced the world of 
sin, of justice, and of judgment ; realize, if you can, 
that all is now over, and that eternity is about to 
begin. 

Whither are you going to spend the eternal 
years ? Will you spend them in heaven or in hell ? 
Remember, there is no alternative. If you are to 
reign with Christ, your entrance into the abode of 
peace will be hailed with gladsome alleluias and 
hymns of praise. If, however, you are to dwell in 
everlasting misery, you will go down into endless 
darkness, into unquenchable fire, with foulest blas- 
phemy upon your lips, and with a piercing cry of 
despair. That cry will be your farewell to friends, 
your eternal adieu to God and to glory. 

My brethren, God never meant that people whose 
lot in this life is ofttimes little more than a hard and 
thankless task, should be unhappy in the hereafter. 
Hence, our prayer is that the Lord may give you, His 



226 Father Walsh 

children, grace, and strength, and courage to fight 
the good fight, to run the race, and to keep the 
faith. Do God's will ; keep God's law, and you have 
now the assurance that you shall taste all the sweet- 
ness of victory and peace and happiness, " when you 
shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of 
heaven, with great power and majesty, to render to 
every man according to his works/ ' 



SERMON DELIVERED AT THE DEDICATION 
OF ST. MARY'S CHURCH, TROY, N. Y. 

The dedicatory sermon was preached by Rev. 
Michael J. Walsh, of St. Vincent de Paul's Church, 
Albany. It was eloquent and scholarly. His text 
was : "Jesus Christ, the World's Only Great Teacher. 
What He Teaches and How He Teaches. ' ' 

' ' For this was I born, and for this came 
I into the world : that I might give testimony to 
the truth." — John xviii, 37. 

Rt. Rev. Bishop, Rev. Fathers, Dear Brethren : 

We are assembled here this morning to dedicate, 
with solemn and impressive ceremonies, a new edifice 
to the cause of religion. Naturally, we "searched 
the Scriptures " for a text and a theme appropriate to 
the occasion. We believe we found both when we 
found those words of St. John which we have just 
quoted for you. The full meaning of those few 
words is best brought out by a study of the real rea- 
son for which this church has been built. There is, 
as we know, a reason for everything— for the little 
leaf on the tree, and for the green grass in the 
fields ; they speak of our Heavenly Father's special 
solicitude for us, the children of His predilection : for 
' ' if God so clothe the grass of the field which to-day 



Sermons 227 

is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, how much 
more you, ye of little faith 1" There is a reason 
for the coming and going of the seasons. They warn 
us of our own passing away, and tell us that the lul- 
laby at the cradle is soon followed by the requiem at 
the grave. Our lease of life is, indeed, short, and 
we have here below no lasting dwelling-place. There 
is a reason for the beauties of nature and the har- 
monies of the world above and about us. They pro- 
claim the omnipotent power of an Unseen Hand, and 
reveal the perfections and the purposes of a Being 
infinitely good and great. And so with this stately 
pile— so majestic in its proportions, so rich in studied 
tintings and storied windows — it, too, must have a 
reason, a meaning, a purpose all its own. Let us 
say here that this new St. Mary's was not built to 
add one more to the number of Troy's beautiful 
buildings ; nor was it built to emphasize the incom- 
parable and the inexhaustible charity of a generous, 
faithful people. Neither was it built to crown the 
well-nigh forty years of consecrated love and labor 
given by our venerable and devoted pastor to the 
service of his Divine Master. No. No such purposes 
as these, commendable though they be in themselves, 
ever inspire the building of a Catholic church, for 
the end proposed and constantly sought after by a 
Catholic church is purely spiritual — supernatural. 
Consequently, this new edifice was built to be a spiri- 
tual means to a spiritual end. And, indeed, to a 
Catholic mind there is far more spiritual than mate- 
rial meaning in its construction and equipment, for 
its foundations, so massive and so solid, seem to say : 
" Here is the pillar, the ground of truth/ ' Its altars 
are suggestive of that "clean oblation of the new 
law, which is offered daily from the rising to the 
setting of the sun." Its holy table reminds us of 
that same blessed bread which Christ Himself broke 
and gave to His Apostles the night before He died,. 



228 Father Walsh 

saying : ' ' Take and eat ye all of this, for this is My 
body." Its fonts and its confessionals are eloquent 
with victories over the power of the evil one. This 
pulpit will recall to us, and to generations yet unborn, 
memories of Divine mercy as well as warnings of 
Divine justice. In a word, our surroundings to-day 
prove conclusively that Jesus meant to make His 
Church a spiritual means to a spiritual end by making 
its mission to the world one with, and the same as 
His own. 

If we understood, brethren, the full meaning 
of the words of our text, we would then understand 
the nature and the scope of that Divine mission ; for 
then we would not only realize that Jesus Christ is 
the world's only great Teacher, but we would also 
know what millions of others do not and never can 
know, namely, what that Teacher teaches, and how 
that Teacher teaches. 

Let us try to make these premises clear. 

Our text says : ' ' For this was I born, and for this 
came I into the world : that I might give testimony 
to the truth." 

No one can give testimony to the truth without 
exercising, in some measure, the functions of a 
teacher. Such a one must be for others a source of 
instruction. Now it is beyond doubt that our Blessed 
Lord brought into the world the deepest philosophy, 
and the highest and holiest knowledge ; for He 
taught His Apostles and His followers of every race 
and age, that they would know, through Him, the 
truth, and that the truth would make them free — 
free from the bondage of sin and Satan. The history 
of man's redemption verifies His claim. 

Once we admit that man sinned, we admit in the 
same breath that he lost the way to Heaven. 'Twas 
not a great while before the misery of that loss began 
to make itself felt ; for soon humanity was groping 
in the dark, hopeless and helpless, crying out in its 



Sermons 229 

despair for a hand to lead it fca?k to the Light, "for a 
voice to teach it the way of God is truth/ ' 

From time to time this task was attempted by 
different master minds ; but each in turn found it 
beyond the power of man to remedy existing- condi- 
tions and to inspire confidence in human leadership. 
And so the long night of spiritual darkness wore 
wearily on. 

Finally— in the fullness of time— Heaven stooped 
to earth, and gave us for three and thirty years the 
kindest, the mildest, the purest, the wisest, the best 
of all teachers— one who took humanity by the hand ; 
wiped away its tears of despair ; dispelled its blight- 
ing doubts, and solved, for all time, the mysteries of 
life and death. Man was, indeed, free— at last. 

What a signal service to render to a fallen world ! 
And, oh ! brethren, what a benefactor that Heavenly 
Teacher was ! Yea, and more than a benefactor, for 
I tell you that the Son of God was, and is, and always 
will be, for us, a Divine Model to copy and a Divine 
Exemplar to follow. 

For proof of this fact we have only to recall to 
mind these words of Holy Writ : "I have given you 
the example (Christ might have said : I have given 
you the light, the strength, the grace), in order that 
as I have done, you also may do." Therefore, what 
Christ did, we also may and should do. 

Do we appreciate, dearly beloved in the Lord, all 
that this means ? 

It means virtually that the work of the redemp- 
tion must go on while there are souls in the world to 
save, and that each one of us who has attained unto 
the years of manhood or womanhood ought to be 
"another Christ" — a teacher in the highest and 
holiest sense of the word. 

It may be true that we cannot have, as our 
Master had, the whole world for a class-room ; but 
what is there to prevent us from giving testimony to 



230 Father Walsh 

the truth, and thus doing what we can to save our- 
selves and others round about us in the street, in the 
store, in the workshop, in the office, in the home, in 
society ? Everyone can do something that will help 
perpetuate the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. 
Will we be faithful to our high calling, or will we be 
false to the teachings of our Master ? Bear in mind, 
brethren, that if this world of ours ever falls from 
the high plane to which the Son of Man lifted it (and 
students of sociology seem to see signs of such an 
impending fall) , the responsibility will be ours — ours 
collectively and individually. For in the court of 
final judgment the Just Judge — our Teacher— will 
have a right to demand of us a fair return for the 
thought and time given to our instruction. 

He will have a right to look for the practical 
illustration of His principles, especially in the lives 
of His professed disciples. 

He will have a right to examine into the dealings 
of man with man, and to condemn that degrading 
selfishness and commercial greed which threaten to 
turn the world back to the worst days of paganism. 

Let men and women once forget the practices of 
their Divine Model and the lessons of their Divine 
Teacher, and they will soon learn to forget all that 
makes for human progress and human perfection. 
We might enlarge on this part of our subject, breth- 
ren, but the ceremonies are long to-day, and we must 
not presume too much on your kindly indulgence. 
From the little we have said, it ought to be evident 
to all fair-minded men that He Who by His preaching 
was the first to save mankind, and then gave us the 
means of preserving it from moral ruin, must be 
indeed the world's one great Teacher. 

Were more and greater proofs of this fact needed, 
we might easily find them by asking : What does 
the world's only great Teacher teach ? 

We have not far to look for an answer. Our 



Sermons 231 

text tells us : "For this I was born, and for this 
came I into the world : that I might give testimony 
to the truth." 

Here we have, brethren, a word that is quite as 
full of mystery to most men as the Trinity itself. 
Why ? It may be, because the vast majority of 
people are too superficial to attach any special spiri- 
tual significance to a little monosyllable like " truth." 
As a matter of fact, however, there is a whole world 
of spiritual meaning lying behind that term, and we 
know it not. We do not even suspect it. And what 
we do not know or even suspect is always more or 
less mysterious. 

But another and perhaps better reason why the 
word "truth" is so mysterious to the many is be- 
cause it represents so much. It stands for an almost 
infinite number of spiritual things— for the thoughts 
and theories, for the principles and practices, for the 
duties and desires, for the words and works that have 
glorified Christ and regenerated the human race. 

A common and dangerous mistake made now- 
adays is to depend too implicitly on a definition. 
Christ never defined truth. When Pilate put to Him 
the question, "What is truth?" our Blessed Lord 
made no answer. He could have defined it, but not 
in ten words, nor in ten thousand. This we infer 
from the fact that He took thirty-three years to give 
testimony to it. 

If our Divine Saviour gave expression to new 
thoughts, advocated new theories, inculcated new 
principles, followed new practices, performed new 
works, lifted up the human mind and heart to new 
desires ; in a word, if He taught the world a new 
doctrine, it was because the world had lost all knowl- 
edge of the truth ; while He knew the Father, and 
knowing Him, saw in Him everything that is right 
and real— everything that is pleasing and perfect in 
His, the Father's, sight. 



232 Father Walsh 

As man, Christ did not create truth. No. As 
God, He knew it in Himself. He saw it in the 
Father. As man, He simply copied it, followed it, 
practiced it. Consequently, everything that the Son 
of God said and did during His mortal career, was in 
its nature supernatural, and in its effects as eternal 
as the "everlasting hills. ,? Hence the memorable 
saying of St. Matthew: "Heaven and earth shall 
pass away, but My words shall not pass away." 

Mind you, brethren, we do not claim that the 
world hears, or obeys, or even respects, as it should, 
the testimony or teaching of its great and good 
Master. Indeed, it is quite the other way. You 
know why. Men are inclined nowadays to turn aside 
from their Redeemer as the highest and holiest ex- 
pression of the truth. They have begun to follow 
other examplars, and to copy other models. They 
are building largely on the shifting sands of " hu- 
man' ' knowledge, of " human' ' opinions, and of 
"human" judgment. And what has been the re- 
sult ? Just what we might have expected : revolu- 
tionary theories threaten the peace and the security 
of governments. In many places the darkest clouds 
hang over social and domestic life. In this and in 
every Christian community, the religion of a great 
many men and women is a counterpart of paganism, 
and a counterfeit of Christianity. 

Let us briefly explain our thought. The Son of 
God, our Teacher, blessed poverty by accepting it as 
His portion during His mortal life. Holy Writ says, 
"He had not whereon to lay His head." To-day a 
large number of men and women consider poverty 
more or less of a curse, and to escape it they do 
not hesitate to descend to the lowest degradation. 
Women yield ofttimes to the vilest temptations, while 
men frequently stoop to public plunder, and some- 
times even to cold-blooded murder. What contempt- 
ible specimens of Christian manhood and womanhood 
are harlots and thieves and murderers ! 



Sermons 233 

Again, Christ sanctified trial, and sorrow, and 
suffering by accepting cheerfully the bitter chalice of 
His own passion and death. The good book says : 
" He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and He 
opened not His mouth." How very different it is 
with many, if not most of us, in times of sickness, 
sorrow and suffering. Usually we murmur and com- 
plain. We are apt to question the wisdom as well as 
the mercy of God. Some have even gone so far as to 
advocate self-destruction as a justifiable relief from 
human misery. What mockery of Christianity ! 
What inconsistency in the children of a Heavenly 
Father ! How can such people say, ' ' Thy will be 
done on earth as it is in heaven ' ' ? How much more 
manly and womanly it is to stand up or kneel down 
in all humility, and say with the Christ-model, 
" Father, not my will, but Thine, be done." 

Again, our Blessed Saviour points out the way to 
moral cleanliness, and immortalizes social and domes- 
tic purity, saying, ' ' Blessed are the pure of heart, for 
they shall see God." We blush to acknowledge it, 
brethren, but there are here, and everywhere through- 
out our fair land, men and women ' ' whose glory is in 
their shame. ' ' From day to day they commit shock- 
ing sins, and are guilty of nameless crimes— sins and 
crimes that make them, in life, defiled temples of the 
Holy Ghost, and in death— little handfuls of dirt that 
are undeserving of burial in a barnyard. Shame on 
such Christians ! Shame on such Catholics ! Jesus 
Christ did not disdain to assume and elevate our 
human nature, but some so-called children of the 
household of faith do not scruple to drag down into 
filth and iniquity that masterpiece of omnipotence— 
the soul that was created in the image and likeness of 
God Himself. 

Do such people give testimony to the truth ? 
Purity is truth. And so is temperance, and so is 
honesty ; and so are charity and mercy and justice. 



234 Father Walsh 

And so is everything that is real and right, and so is 
everything that is perfect and pleasing in the sight 
of God. 

We pass to a last consideration of our text. We 
know that Christ is the world's only great Teacher. 
We know what that Teacher teaches. We want to 
know now how that Teacher teaches. 

One of the most eminent of modern statesmen, 
orators, critics and scholars, the late William E. 
Gladstone, once said that the Bible is the best book 
ever written. 

Such is the verdict of all ages. It is no exag- 
geration to say that we find only in the inspired vol- 
ume the best thought expressed in the best way. We 
have but to read the Master's matchless sermons to 
know that He was, indeed, a "true speaker." His 
eloquence, so simple and yet so sublime, is even to- 
day the dream of the orator. His parables, so nat- 
ural and yet so striking, still furnish inspiration to 
the sculptor's chisel and the painter's brush. 

No wonder his enemies said among themselves : 
" No man ever spake as this man." They might have 
added : "And no man ever will speak as this man 
spake." As an oral teacher, Christ has no equal. 
He stands alone, again a model for us to copy and an 
exemplar for us to follow. Like Him, we must not 
spare our words when the honor and glory of God 
are at stake ; when justice is outraged ; when revela- 
tion is assailed. We must not cringe or crawl away 
when "Right " is being trampled under foot. No. 
We must speak out in its defense, even in the face of 
the most plausible opposition. We find in the world 
to-day not a few like Pilate of old— men and women 
who are afraid of the sneers and the jeers of the 
rabble. Such weaklings frequently crucify Truth, 
just as the Scribes and Pharisees crucified Jesus 
Christ. 

We cannot gainsay the fact, brethren, that speech 



Sermons 235 

or eloquence has won great victories for Truth. But 
we do seriously doubt that it was either the first or 
the most efficient method employed by Christ in His 
mission to the world. Surely Christ knew as much 
as we know, and we know that speech is silver, while 
silence is golden. Speech or eloquence is strong, but 
silent example is stronger. 

If I wish to learn to pray, it is not necessary for 
me to sit at the Master's feet and hear Him repeat 
the ' ' Our Father. " No ; I go by night to the Garden 
of Gethsemane, and there I see my Model lying pros- 
trate on the ground, spending whole hours in holy 
converse with His Heavenly Father. If I wish to 
learn humility, it is not necessary for me to hear 
those blessed words from blessed lips : ' ' Learn of 
Me ; for I am meek and humble of heart. ' ' No. I 
look in at the door of the room in which Jesus and 
the eleven are eating the Last Supper. There in that 
little room I see my Saviour — the Son of God— wash- 
ing the feet of His own creatures. 

If I wish to learn to forgive injuries, it is not 
necessary for me to catch these words of warning : 
"And so shall My Heavenly Father do unto you, 
unless you forgive every one his brother from the 
heart." No. I steal away in spirit, on Good Friday 
afternoon, to Mount Calvary, and there I see the dis- 
figured and dead body of my Master hanging from 
the cross. The sun, the moon, the stars, the stones, 
the torn veil of the temple, the opened graves — all 
nature tells me that He died in order that His ene- 
mies might live. Yes ; example was Christ's favorite 
method of teaching and preaching. Brethren, ' ' Go 
and do ye likewise." 

We thank God, on this auspicious occasion, that 
it was our privilege to hear for the first time the les- 
sons preached here to-day, from the pulpit of old St. 
Mary's, and to have first learned them from the lips 
and life of a dear old saintly pastor. Father Haver- 



236 Father Walsh 

mans was the first to sow the seed of the Word of 
God in our souls. 

When we recall to mind his eloquence and his 
example, we are not surprised to find this a pious 
congregation. Nor do we wonder that the oldest 
families of this parish have banded together, and, in 
gratitude, erected this beautiful main altar in loving 
memory of his long and useful ministry. 

He was truly " powerful in word and in work/' 
We cannot but believe that he is present here in spirit 
this morning, to bless you, brethren, and to bless his 
zealous successor, who has brought to completion this 
magnificent "House of God." 

Methinks there is in all this newness and beauty 
the promise of a fruitful future. 

Priests and pastors and pulpits may pass away, 
but the faithful will ever have the Gospel preached 
to them. They will hear, from generation to genera- 
tion, the same eternal truths of God. And so, to the 
remotest ages, they will hear of the world's only 
great Teacher, and they will know what that Teacher 
teaches, and how that Teacher teaches. 



TWELFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. * 
"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God."— Luke x, 27. 

Almighty God has many ways of teaching us, 
my brethren, the precious secret of all true wisdom, 
which is to " love the Lord, our God, with our whole 
heart, and with our whole soul, and with all our 
strength, and with all our mind." 

To some this secret is imparted through the 
oft-repeated admonitions and exhortations of Holy 
Church, who, like a tender mother, is ever guarding 

* The two following sermons were found while the printers 
were preparing the book for publication. 



Sermons 237 

us against the seductive wiles of the devil and the 
wickedness of the world. But to the far greater 
portion of the human family this more than worldly 
wisdom comes from the sad experiences of their 
fellow-creatures, whose noble faculties of heart and 
mind have been weakened, and whose lives, according 
to their own testimony, have been wasted by a too 
constant and close pursuit of pleasure and passion, 
as the only objects worthy of love and devotion. _ 

In the struggle between right and wrong, virtue 
and vice, they lost sight of the standard of Christ. 
They stopped to look backward in their flight from sin. 
The arch-enemy of God and man caught their atten- 
tion, and won them over, little by little, to the hard 
and thankless service of the world and to the love of 
earthly things. The natural result is, my brethren, 
that many among those with whom we are brought 
into almost daily contact are making of this life 
a most disastrous failure, although neither they nor 
we will fully realize the fact until, placed face to face 
with death, they surprise us with the declaration that 
they are about to leave the world without ever 
knowing practically the reason for coming into it. 

My brethren, such admissions are well calculated, 
one would think, to bring us to a sense of our duty, 
and teach us how to profit by the awful mistakes of 
our less favored and less fortunate fellows ; and yet it 
requires no extraordinary power of vision to see num- 
berless souls still straying away, every day, from the 
service of the love of God and His Church. 

We need not go far to find abundant evidence 
bearing on this point ; for, looking around us, do we 
not perceive on all sides numbers of men and women 
deeply engrossed by a multiplicity of worldly cares, 
and drawn away from their higher interests by a 
thousand and. one whims of their capricious hearts ? 
They have virtually forgotten God, and forgetfulness 
is, my brethren, the surest of signs that they have 



238 Father Walsh 

ceased to love their Creator, Who is the eternal source 
of infinite happiness, power and perfection. 

So must it be with us. If we give our best and 
truest love to any but God, we are simply forgetting, 
overlooking, His promises and perfections— perfec- 
tions whose presence we recognize, and whose effects 
we feel at all times and in all places. It is He Who 
preserves and governs this world by His sovereign 
intelligence, of which ours is only the faintest scin- 
tillation. It is He who commands the winds and the 
waves, and says to the angry billows of the deep : 
"You shall come thus far and no further.' ' "Thy 
sins are forgiven ; go and sin no more." It is He 
who whispers words of consolation and encourage- 
ment to the afflicted and oppressed, saying : ' Weep 
not." 

His beauty, His tenderness, His mercy, are re- 
flected in myriads of beings that still grace our fallen 
world ; wherefore, admiration for His perfections, or 
at least gratitude for His goodness, demands that we 
love Him. But how shall we show our love for the 
Lord ? This question is best answered by Christ Him- 
self in the Gospel of St. John, when He says : "If 
any man love Me, he will keep My commandments." 
Hence, fidelity to the commandments is the most su- 
preme test of our love of God. The number and nature 
of these commandments our Blessed Lord summarized 
when He said : ' ' Thou shalt love the Lord thy God 
with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and 
with all thy strength, and with all thy mind ; and 
thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."— Luke x, 27. 

Love, therefore, something better and more dur- 
able than the things of this world— ephemeral pleas- 
ures and soul-destroying passions. Let the ambitious 
man remember that fame and fortune have made 
others forgetful of their Creator ; let the miser re- 
member that he should not make a god of his lucre ; 
let the drunkard take heed lest he make a deity of 



Sermons 239 

rum ; and let the sensual be careful lest death come 
and surprise them, prostrated at the foulest of all 
altars, worshipping the foulest of divinities. 

And you, Christian parents, teach your children, 
in whom are wrapped up cherished hopes of happiness, 
temporal and eternal, that the love of God is para- 
amount to all things else ; teach them that He alone 
can satisfy all our yearnings after happiness ; teach 
them that with His love in their hearts, they will be 
rich even in poverty, great even in humiliations, 
cheerful even in suffering and misery ; in a word, tell 
them there is nothing good or beautiful or true that 
is not in and from God, and that consequently He is 
to be loved by us ''with our whole heart, with our 
whole soul, and with all strength, and with all our 
mind." 

FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT. 
"Prepare ye the way of the Lord/ '—Matt, iii, 3. 

Dearly Beloved Brethren : 

The holy season of Advent is well-nigh spent ; 
another day in the world will hear again the merry 
midnight chimes ushering in the feast of feasts— 
that blessed anniversary around which will ever 
cluster the holiest and the happiest memories. 

The coming and the going of most days so 
swiftly tell us of the flight of time. But this is not 
true of the twenty-fifth of December. That day 
means more than the passing of a few fleeting hours ; 
for it recalls an event that renewed the face of the 
earth, changing the whole current of human life and 
thought, in bringing to humanity new hope and new 
aspirations. 

Through the mercy and the love of God, what 
man lost in Paradise he found again in a stable 
at Bethlehem on Christmas morn. Hence, those 



240 Father Walsh 

happy, hopeful feelings that usually find lodgment 
in the human heart on the anniversary of Christ's 
Nativity. Joy there is, indeed, and joy there always 
will be, brethren, in the memories of the world's 
first Christmas Day ; providing, however, we make 
time for an earnest, intelligent and humble study of 
the Incarnation, and fail not to enter into the spirit 
of Holy Church, whose aim and whose mission it is, 
especially during these closing hours of Advent, to 
stir up our hearts, and so prepare the way of the 
Lord. 

Knowing, as she does, that Christians can never 
fully appreciate the sweet smile of the Divine Child 
without having first prayed and fasted and performed 
penances, is it any wonder that for these three Sun- 
days past, and again to-day, she has persistently 
placed before us in the Gospel a picture of repent- 
ance, and insisted upon making it the sole topic of 
our preaching ? 

Through ways that are mysterious the Church 
keeps in touch with heaven. She alone knows the 
mind of God. She alone understands the necessity 
of bringing low every mountain and hill ; of filling 
up every valley ; of making the crooked road straight 
and the rough ways plain. She alone assumes re- 
sponsibility for souls committed to her care and keep- 
ing, and hence it is that she points with authority 
to the teaching and the example of the Eternal 
Father Himself, and bids us, in His name, to dispose 
our minds and our hearts for the worthy reception of 
Him Who came to seek and to save that which was 
lost. 

Will we, brethren, refuse to hear the Church ? 
Will we refuse to hear instruction ? Will we turn a 
deaf ear to the pleadings of conscience, and be so in- 
different to the grace of God as to ignore His voice— 
the voice of a Father and a Friend— calling upon us 
at this time to do penance, and to make straight the 



Sermons 241 

path of the Lord ? Men might easily spare them- 
selves such mistakes if they would but look back and 
remember the past. There is no more pathetic page 
in the annals of the world than the record of the all 
but hopeless waiting of the Jewish people for the 
coming of the Messiah. Generation followed genera- 
tion, and still no deliverer appeared. For four thou- 
sand years and more the sighs and supplications had 
ascended to heaven, and all seemingly to no purpose ; 
for no answer ever came back to break the awful 
monotony of the weary watching and waiting. 

Oh i brethren, think this morning of those people 
of ancient years ! How they prayed, fasted, per- 
formed penance, that they might be privileged 
and prepared to receive, as we may, the Saviour of 
our race ! How they longed to see the things that we 
see, and saw them not, and to hear the things that 
we hear, and heard them not. What would they not 
have given in exchange for the opportunity and those 
graces that are ours for the asking or the seeking, 
but which we, through either ignorance or indiffer- 
ence, ofttimes neglect and sometimes scorn. 

With the sacraments of the Church within our 
reach, and the Book of the Holy Gospel opened before 
our eyes, it becomes easy for us to anticipate the bliss 
of the saints and to enjoy a foretaste of heaven itself ; 
for, at little inconvenience to ourselves, and whenever 
we will, we may go to that Bethlehem, to that house 
of bread, and there kneel down beside the cradle of 
Christ. In other words, with little effort on our part 
we may kneel down in the Church of God, and by 
contrition and confession make these poor hearts 
of ours like the favored manger — a fit dwelling- 
place for the glory of God. 

There is not one here this morning who can 
reasonably doubt that such is the will of the Most 
High ; for was not the Most High Himself the first to 
prepare the way of the Lord ? Was it not He Who 



242 Father Walsh 

fashioned, with infinite care, the body and soul of the 
Immaculate Mother, that she might become a living 
temple, a beautiful tabernacle, for her Only Begotten 
Son ? Was it not He who decreed from the begin- 
ning that that mother should be "full of grace,' ' 
and blessed among women, because of the child she 
bore ? Surely this is proof sufficient that the Eternal 
Father Himself did not disdain to have a part and a 
place in the preparations for the coming of the Just 
One. 

Nor did the part which the Most High played in 
our redemption stop here. There is absolutely noth- 
ing to justify us in believing that Almighty God's 
interest in our deliverance from sin ceased with the 
creation and lavish endowment of the Virgin Mother. 
Such a conclusion is, in fact, very wide of the truth, 
for it is universally admitted that when the time 
drew near for the Second Person of the Blessed 
Trinity to assume human nature, it was the Eternal 
Father again who gently prepared the world for 
that never-to-be-forgotten event. He turned man's 
tnoughts to the prophecies of old ; He enlightened 
His children to read therein the signs of the times, 
and to detect palpable evidence of the fact that the 
kingdom of heaven was at hand ; that the old order 
of things was about to pass away, and that all flesh 
was about to see, at last, the salvation of God. The 
effect of this supernatural enlightenment was magi- 
cal : immediately expectancy took possession of the 
wise ones of the earth. Everywhere, the people 
began to prepare and to pray for the Prince of Peace. 
Young and old flocked out to the banks of the Jordan, 
and listened with rapt attention to the burning 
words of John the Baptist, who was that "angel" 
chosen by Providence to go before the face of Jesus 
Christ and to make His path straight. 

We can never realize, brethren, how well John 
the Baptist succeeded in his appointed task. What is 



Sermons 243 

clear is this : If there was ever on earth a human 
being capable of touching the most hardened hearts 
and of drawing the multitudes in true repentance to 
the feet of the Lamb of God, surely it must have 
been the Precursor's gift of sacred eloquence, which 
convinced and converted all hearers. In the whole 
range of inspired writings we have no stronger calls 
to penance, no more earnest pleadings for prepara- 
tion, than the sermons of that God-fearing and God- 
loving Saint of the Judean desert. 

As we read his memorable sayings, we involun- 
tarily ask ourselves : How could the people have 
refused to forsake their sins ? How could the nations 
have done otherwise than to have prepared the way 
of the Lord ? See how he scourges the hypocritical 
Scribes and Pharisees, saying: "Ye offspring of 
vipers ! Who hath shown you to flee from the wrath 
to come. . . . " " Bring forth fruit worthy of 
penance and do not begin to say : We have Abraham 
for our father. For I say to you that God is able of 
these stones to raise up children to Abraham.' ' 

He threatens the lukewarm, the indifferent, and 
the irreligious in these words, saying: "The axe is 
even now laid to the root of the trees. Every tree, 
therefore, that bringeth not forth good fruit shall be 
cut down and cast into the fire. ,, " Do penance, or 
ye shall all likewise perish. " * ' There shall come One 
mightier than I, the latchet of whose shoes I am not 
worthy to loose. " "He will purge His floor and will 
gather the wheat into His barn ; but the chaff He 
will burn with unquenchable fire. ,, Hear how he 
condemns the selfishness of his own age : " He that 
hath two coats, let him give to him that hath none ; 
and he that hath meat, let him do in like manner."' 
This is how he inculcated gentleness and charitable- 
ness : "Do violence to no man, neither calumniate 
any man." 
ik^ We can all fancy the moral influence of these and. 



244 Father Walsh 

similar sayings. Those that heard them could not 
resist their force. The natural result was, that 
hundreds of people became penitents and applied to 
John for baptism, feeling that that ceremonial rite 
would do much to purify and prepare their souls for 
the birth of the Son of Justice. To them, indeed, 
was given ' ' the power to be made the sons of God. ' ' 
It is not enough for us to admire the strong, manly 
eloquence of St. John the Baptist ; it is, indeed, all an 
empty sound, if it fails to touch our hearts to repent- 
ance, and to lead us in spirit to the cradle of Christ. 
Such is, in truth, the intention of God, for in the 
Holy Book it is said : ' ' Whatsoever things have been 
written, have been written for our instruction.' ' 

Inspired words were never meant for any special 
class or condition of men, nor were they meant to be 
circumscribed by the limits of space and time. They 
were spoken and written to and for us of to-day as 
well as to and for the people of two thousand years 
ago. To know this, brethren, ought to bring to the 
average Christian a sense of grateful pleasure, im- 
posing upon us the grave responsibility of hearing 
and obeying. If we had no inspired writings to in- 
struct us, we might perhaps find some pretext for 
failing to enter into this season of prayer and peni- 
tence. We might perhaps argue that though such or 
such a requirement was the will of God, we knew it 
not. We cannot make such excuses now. We have 
the words of St. John the Baptist. The words of St. 
John the Baptist are the words of the Church itself, 
and the words of the Church are the words of God. 

The time has long since gone by, brethren, when 
men and women were wont to sit indifferently in 
their pews, and feel that, although steeped in sin, 
they had fulfilled every requirement of conscience 
and religion. They were not doing their duty, 
neither are they who are imitating them, doing their 
duty to God and to themselves, for their duty obliges 



Sermons 245 

them to come near to the Saviour's side, just as did 
the shepherds of old. Our inaction must be taken as 
an evidence of contempt, and our conduct must be 
considered even more harsh and heartless than the 
treatment accorded to the Son of God by the ignorant 
innkeepers of Bethlehem. The Saviour of the world 
proposes to come unto His own ; will His own receive 
Him? 

We cannot answer these questions as we would 
wish, brethren, until we have first seen every moun- 
tain of mortal sin brought -low, and every hill of 
venial sin razed from our souls ; until we have first 
assured ourselves that the valleys of omission and 
the hollows of spiritual deficiencies have been filled 
up. All around us in the world to-day are weak, 
shallow characters, lives that are empty of every- 
thing save moral meanness. When we have ceased 
to belong to this class, and lifted ourselves by repent™ 
ance above a sinful, self-seeking world, then, and not 
till then, shall we be able to assert in truth : Thy 
ways to our heart have been prepared, Lord. $ 

God grant that on Christmas morn we may all 
put forth such a claim. 'Tis in this hope that we say 
to you again, brethren, in the words of John the 
Baptist, ' ' Do penance, for the kingdom of ^God is at 
hand." 

THE BLESSED SACRAMENT. 

This afternoon, my brethren, the usual proces- 
sion in honor of the most Blessed Sacrament will take 
place, and judging from the numbers present on 
former occasions of this nature, we bespeak for our 
dear Lord an imposing guard, such as few American 
cities have ever seen, and one that will be in every 
respect a fair test of the depth and sincerity of our 
faith and love. ;;. .. 

Owing to circumstances, public processions have 



246 Father Walsh 

been practically unknown in this country. For many 
years, and in tact until quite recently, we possessed 
none of those elements that wouid warrant us in 
making the attempt. We lacked numerical strength ; 
we lacked position ; we lacked organization. But 
this old order of things has passed away. In ac- 
cidentals we have changed with the times. We have 
walked up the road to progress with giant strides, 
until to-day we are the admiration of the world. We 
understand our rights better to-day than ever be- 
fore ; we appreciate more fully our obligations, and 
the future gives promise of more than passing inter- 
est in the proper and solemn celebration of our grand 
feast days. We feel that the time has now come 
when religious hatred must give way to charity, and 
bigotry to reason. People are being educated nowa- 
days ; they are beginning to see clearer, and ere long 
we hope to hear of every denomination joining with 
the leading lights of the Presbyterian Church in 
rejecting the old belief that Roman Catholics are 
idolaters. 

Because of our faith in the God of the Holy 
Eucharist, many of our separated brethren have 
treated us with mingled feelings of pity and deri- 
sion. They delight in calling us " idolaters." 

If treatment so unchristian can contribute in any 
wise to their happiness, we shall be doubly pleased ; 
pleased, first, because it gives them pleasure ; and 
secondly, it neither hurts nor surprises us. Christ 
Himself prepared us for aspersions of this character ; 
for He told us very emphatically that the servant is 
not above His Master, and that if the world reviled 
Him, it would revile us also. 

But, my brethren, is the derision of unbelievers 
the only objectionable feature of our public pro- 
fessions of faith ? Unfortunately, it is not. Tnere 
is something worse, something meaner, something 
more despicable than derision to be apprehended, 



Sermons 247 

and that is the cold indifference and the moral cow- 
ardice of God's own children. For I would have you 
know, my dearest friends, that there are in our midst 
not a few Catholics, subjects, and therefore slaves, of 
human respect. I need not tell you the nature or the 
extent of its dominion over its victims. Suffice it to 
say that it is the most tyrannical of masters, since, 
at its bidding, men and women will stifle the noblest 
instincts of their manhood and womanhood, and 
desert one Who has ever been a friend and a father 
to them and their kind. 

And let me say to you, my brethren, that the 
Blessed Sacrament of the Altar, which we treat so 
coldly and negligently, is the truest of friends and 
the kindest of fathers. It was not enough for Him 
to call us into existence, to rescue us from the 
power of Satan, to tell us of our high dignity and 
happy home in heaven. His paternal tenderness 
would go further still. He would busy Himself with 
every detail of our journey heavenward. He would 
even provide a miraculous bread and beverage — His 
own most Precious Body and Blood. 

"I am the Living Bread that came down from 
heaven/ ' says the Saviour. "If any man eat of the 
bread he shall live forever, and the bread that I shall 
give is My Flesh.' ' Truly this is a mystery of love, 
a stupendous miracle of grace. To meditate upon it 
is to lose one's self in the ocean of Divine goodness. 
The most we can do is to prostrate ourselves before 
our Friend and Father, veiled under the appearance 
of bread and wine, and proudly proclaim, under all 
circumstances and on all occasions, that there is no 
God like unto our God. Naturalists tell us that no 
bird rivals the pelican in generous instincts. When 
its little ones are in want of food, the pelican is not 
content to feed them grain. It opens its own breast 
with its beak, in order that they may feed on her 
blood. St. Gertrude once saw Jesus under the appear- 



248 Father Walsh 

ance of a pelican, wounding its own breast and giv- 
ing its blood to feed its little ones. Greatly troubled 
by the vision, she cried out : ' ' My God, what is the 
meaning of this?" It is related that our Blessed 
Lord answered : ' ' I want you to understand how 
great is My love for My creatures. It induces me 
to give My own blood to feed them." 

This is one of those sayings which the world 
finds so hard — nay, impossible to believe. It seems 
to say, as it said nineteen hundred years ago: 'I 
cannot comprehend how this man can give us His 
flesh to eat, and His blood to drink. " On this point 
we must leave the world in ignorance, for God has 
not yet seen fit to reveal His mysteries to man. On 
the last day, everything hidden from us in this life 
will be made clear. In the meantime, however, it 
would be very kind of the world to tell us just how 
ignorance can excuse unbelief. 

There are many things, to us unintelligible, which 
we can, and must, and do believe, and we thank God 
that the Holy Eucharist is one of them. We are not 
ashamed of our belief in the sacrament specified. 
Every day we will cling closer and closer to our 
heavenly friend, and bid a holy defiance to an un- 
believing world. We will multiply our altars, our 
processions, and our benedictions, and if the world 
believes not, we will carry the Lamb of God on high 
and fearlessly expose Him to the hard gaze of in- 
credulity, and leave it with Him to convert the world. 

But it is not, my dear brethren, your faith in His 
adorable mystery that I would seek to strengthen, so 
much as your devotion and reverence towards the 
Sacramental King. Exceptional facilities are offered 
us for visiting Him in this — His own abode. We may 
be grateful for this favor, but most of us are too apt 
to forget that great privileges bring with them dan- 
ger proportionately great. We have reason, there- 
fore, to esteem ourselves fortunate if, contrary to 



Sermons 249 

experience, our frequent approaches to the Blessed 
Sacrament do not beget a spirit of carelessness and 
indevotion towards this heavenly mystery. To avoid 
such a misfortune, we must needs meditate on the 
wonderful goodness and compassion of our Blessed 
Lord in bestowing on us so Divine a gift. We must 
remember, too, that much will be required of them 
to whom much has been given. Heaven could confer 
no greater favor upon us than to nourish us with the 
Sacred Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. 

That the saints brought forth worthy fruit is 
evident from the holiness of their lives. But where 
and what are the proofs that we have partaken of 
that bread which came down from heaven ? Can we 
appeal to our Christian lives ? Holy Communion is 
called the food of the strong. Have we been strong 
in temptations ? Have we stood above open disgrace 
and public profligacy ? Have we risen above the 
petty quarrels and jealousies ? These questions must 
be answered. Again, the Holy Communion is called 
the bread of the pure, the bread of angels. Have we 
done nothing impure to stain or destroy the beauty of 
our souls ? We fear for some of our brethren ; their 
hearts are as unproductive of goodness as a desert is 
of fair flowers — and why ? Because they come to the 
Holy Table without sufficient contrition for sin. 

Infinite perfection will not assimilate with gross 
imperfections. Only when our hearts are given unre- 
servedly to God will we see the wondrous effect of 
the heavenly nourishment. This fact was vividly 
impressed upon me by something I saw some years 
ago in a small village in Belgium. There lived in the 
village to which I refer, a child noted for her piety to 
the Passion of Our Lord and to the Blessed Sacra- 
ment of the Altar. For her devotion to the Passion, 
God imprinted upon her body the five wounds of 
the crucified Saviour, from which there flowed every 
Friday of the year a considerable quantity of blood. 



250 Father Walsh 

For her devotion to the Holy Eucharist, God took 
from her all liking and craving for food and drink, 
and sustained her for more than twelve years with 
no other nourishment than His own most precious 
Body and Blood. 

This sight firmly convinced me, my brethren, 
that we must give our heart to God before we can 
hope to obtain from Him a sign of acceptance and 
promise of life. Let every one of us, therefore, 
give his heart to our Blessed Saviour as He is 
carried among the people. Let us do so frequently in 
the Holy Communion, and, when the veil is removed 
from our eyes by death, we shall see the grand reality 
in heaven face to face. 



Addresses 251 



ADDRESSES. 



RELIGIOUS PROFESSION. 

' 'Thou hast chosen the Lord this day to 
be thy God, and to walk in his way, . . . 
and obey his command.' ' — Deut. xxvi, 17. 

Dear Sisters in Christ and Children of the Sacred 
Heart : 

As there is in the history of every nation some 
one accomplishment and one anniversary that is 
sure to be held by the people in loving and lasting 
remembrance, so there is in the life of every individ- 
ual some one day and some one event around which 
will ever cluster the holiest and the happiest memories. 
Seldom, perhaps, is this fact brought home to us so 
forcibly as on occasions like the present, when we are 
assembled amid hallowed associations and before a 
favored altar, to participate in the joy of a triumph, 
the meaning and magnitude of which are more easily 
felt than described. 

It taxed the genius of poets and historians to tell 
fittingly the story of Caesar's wonderful success in 
subjugating the enemies of his country. How, then, 
can we hope to speak worthily of a greater, because 
spiritual, conquest, all the more sublime because it is 
spiritual— a conquest in which you, dear postulants, 
have played so successful and so important a part ? 
Indeed, he who would claim the privilege of doing 
full justice to such a vast subject, must, by the very 
fact, lay claim to much time and talent. As for us, 
we cannot presume on much of either, and hence, in 



/ 



252 Father Walsh 

this instruction, we shall attempt to do little more 
than congratulate those future brides of Christ, and 
say to them, in the language of Holy Writ : ' ' Gaude 
et laetare" — " Rejoice and be glad, for this is the 
day which the Lord hath made : you shall call it most 
solemn and most holy." 

No doubt, dear children, you have looked forward 
to this day with feelings akin to the truest and deep- 
est joy. In fact, we would fain believe that ever 
since you heard the still but strong voice of God call- 
ing upon you to leave father and mother, and home 
and kindred, you have ofttimes innocently amused 
your minds with fancied pictures of this blessed 
scene. Perhaps, many times during the past two or 
three months, you have knelt here in silence before 
your Divine Master and Model, and in spirit taken 
Him for your portion and inheritance. Perhaps, too, 
you felt a constantly increasing happiness welling up 
in your hearts, and you knew not its secret. We dare 
say you see more clearly now. Your souls were being 
attuned to the music of Divine love, and coming 
events were casting their shadows before. 

What was yesterday but a dream, becomes to-day 
a sober, happy reality. God has not been insensible, 
dear postulants, to your yearnings for a place in His 
dwellings. You have waited patiently and prayer- 
fully. Patience and prayer prevailed ; this is your 
hour of triumph. In a few moments you will cast 
aside those rich robes, so suggestive of the world and 
its vanities, to put on the humble habit of a religious. 
Believe me, there is a deep meaning in this change 
of dress, for you must ever bear in mind that it is not 
the garb alone that makes the monk or the nun, but 
rather generous and willing fidelity to the require- 
ments of your heavenly vocation. 

If I understand rightly, it is your ambition to be- 
come spouses of Jesus Christ. I know of no greater 
dignity to which you could aspire. Surely, it is no 



Addresses 25 



;> 



exaggeration to say yours is a very holy, heavenly 
ambition, for you indulge in hopes and desires more 
than earthly ; still, you may confidently look for their 
fulfillment if you can promise to Christ a sacrifice 
proportionate to the coveted dignity. You know, 
dear postulants, there can be but one such sacrifice, 
and that is the sacrifice of yourselves. Anything 
less than your own selves would be unworthy alike 
of the lover of your souls and of you. 

Hence, you must be ready in the near future to 
offer to God, and without reserve, your souls and 
your bodies — to Him, and to the high purpose of re- 
ligion ; you must be ready to consecrate to Him 
every faculty of your minds, every affection of your 
hearts. Without this, your profession would be an 
insult to the whole court of Heaven. I know, beloved 
in Christ, there are other sacrifices besides that of 
self. I have even heard it said that the greatest sac- 
rifice known to human nature is not the renunciation 
of self, but the renunciation of the world, its riches, 
its pleasures, and its possible honors and dignities. 
Of course, this assertion comes with perfect grace 
from worldlings who are unaccustomed to think and 
talk in the spirit of Christ, but to us Christians, it 
sounds very like sacrilegious. 

My dear young friends, let me assure you of a 
fact of which you are perhaps already cognizant ; it 
is this : in more senses than one, giving up the world 
is not a real sacrifice, and, consequently, nothing 
greatly to regret. On the contrary, we hold it to be 
a most signal blessing, and the highest wisdom. Do 
not right reason and revelation prove our theory to 
be the correct one ? We cling to a thing, that is, we 
are loathe to sacrifice it, on the principle that it may 
contribute to our happiness. But whom has the 
world ever made happy ? To whom have riches ever 
brought peace ? Their accumulation costs untold 
anxiety, days and nights of ceaseless toil and worry, 



254 Father Walsh 

and still they have never yet given either balm to a 
wounded conscience or ease to an aching heart. 

Nor is this contentment, when the golden har- 
vest has been carefully gathered in and counted ; for 
no man— no, not even the rich man, has any assured 
claim upon his future, and, therefore, none on his 
fortune. The grim messenger, death, will force his 
way into the magnificent mansion just as surely as 
he will knock at the door of the humblest home, and 
when the rich man comes to die, he carries with him 
to the grave naught of his vast wealth save the small 
silver plate that glitters on his coffin-lid, and recalls 
what few people care to remember — his name and 
his age. So much for the riches of the world. Now, 
what do you sacrifice, dear children, when you "give 
up " the honors and dignities of the world ? Simply 
shadows, and nothing more. To say the least, they 
are most deceptive, and may be very aptly compared 
to the fruit that is said to grow on the banks of the 
Dead Sea. Travellers tell us it is both beautiful and 
tempting to the eye, but once plucked and opened, it 
is found to contain but ashes. 

But how shall we characterize, dear postulants, 
your action in foregoing the so-called pleasures of 
the world ? Shall we call it a mistake — a species of 
madness ? No. Shall we then dignify it with the 
name of sacrifice ? God forbid. In virtue of our 
office, we priests must know a great deal of the 
world. We see on every side pitiable falls, all directly 
traceable to worldly pleasures. Owing to this fatal 
fascination, manly young men are being lost every 
day to the Church and to God, and, not infrequently, 
we find beautiful and talented young women, grad- 
uates of convents, too, going down in the common 
wreck and ruin. 

I could tell you more of worldly pleasure, my dear 
young friends, but this much will suffice to show you 
that when you spurned them, you simply refused to 



Addresses 255 

play with shackles and chains cunningly used by 
Satan to bind immortal souls, and then to drag them 
down to eternal perdition. Hence, neither regret 
nor sadness should have place or part in this cere- 
mony. Rather should joy and gratitude fill your 
hearts, dear postulants ; ' ' for the Lord hath broken 
your chains, and hath remembered you, pitying your 
youth." 

Now, the Inspired Writer tells us that Christians 
must temper even their joy. Let me, therefore, 
temper your happiness with one word of kindly 
warning. Remember this is only your first step into 
the religious life. To-day a new and promised land 
is opened up to your admiring gaze, and we have 
reason to believe that you enter it with souls full of 
fervor and full of hope. The end of your careers 
will be quite as glorious as their beginning was con- 
soling, if you will but keep these two bright lights 
burning at the door of your hearts. Renew, every 
day, your spirit of fervor in prayer and in medita- 
tion ; for you need hope and help. Come to the 
sweet Sacred Heart of Jesus, and to the feet of the 
Virgin Mother, whose special wards you become this 
morning. Finally, to perfect yourselves in the love 
of God, which is the primary object and ultimate end 
of your vocation, come frequently and receive Him 
whose poverty and chastity and obedience you vir- 
tually promise, to-day, to mirror henceforth in your 
lives. 

In conclusion, I pray God to bless you, dear 
children. May He measure out to you a generous 
meed of grace and strength to pursue your journey 
to the end. May you find the cloister all that you 
expected. There are many saints, living and dead, 
among the religious of the Sacred Heart ; follow in 
their footsteps, and you cannot go astray. True, 
doubt and temptations may assail you from time to 
time, but fear not. Look up to heaven for light and 



256 Father Walsh 

comfort. Thus, living in grace, and growing in 
years, you will calmly look on while the lamp of life 
burns low, and time gradually fades into eternity. 
And when the end comes you will be glad. Angels 
will receive and lead you to the Great White Throne 
of God, Who will clothe you in spotless robes of 
innocence and immortality. In your heavenly home, 
dear chosen ones, you will find upon your lips the 
mystic song that only virgins sing, and you shall be 
forever and forever of that happy band, ' who 
follow the lamb whithersoever He goeth." 



RELIGIOUS PROFESSION. 

" One thing I have asked of the Lord, this 
will I seek after ; that I may dwell in the 
house of the Lord all the days of my life. ,J — 
Ps. xxvi, 4. 

Dear Sisters and Children of St. Dominic : 

A study of human nature reveals the fact that 
we are creatures born with an almost infinite craving 
for happiness. If that craving be not satisfied, life 
is counted a failure ; and we welcome as the best of 
friends, the shroud, the casket, and the grave. 
There is no fate by half so sad as to be compelled to 
live unhappily. 

How, then, are we to avoid such a fate ? How 
are we to appease the longing of our poor hearts for 
happiness ? In a word, how are we to make life a 
sweet success and a holy triumph ? To these ques- 
tions there is and can be but one answer, and that 
answer is dictated by reason as well as by revelation. 
These two infallible guides tell us, in the lan- 
guage of the living saint, and in the words of the 
dying sinner, that the only way to achieve true sue- 



Addresses 257 

cess and to find lasting happiness is to ' ' live for 
God." 

We are well aware, brethren, that the world may 
take exception to this teaching ; in fact, we feel that 
it cannot do otherwise than neglect, with a cynical, 
incredulous smile, this simple solution of a problem 
that has long baffled its so-called superior wisdom. 

Why it should take such a stand and dispute the 
claims of both reason and religion is evident ; the 
world is synonymous with pride. Pride may be 
wounded ; rarely, if ever, can it be conquered. The 
world will not submit to instruction. It may, from 
time to time, modify its policies for expediency's 
sake, but nothing will ever change its principles. 
The world cannot be convinced of the error of its 
ways, neither can it be brought to acknowledge the 
fact that man's highest happiness has always been 
found in " living for God." 

Nevertheless, we may and must insist upon this 
fact, and if further argument were needed to prove 
it, we would hardly know where to begin or where 
to end. There are, as it were, too many proofs of its 
truth. It is the testimony of generations wiser 
than ours. It is, moreover, the plain teaching of the 
very best of masters— of Truth itself, of Our Lord 
and Saviour Jesus Christ. 

Words fail, dear chosen ones, to tell of the 
happiness that filled to overflowing the Saviour's 
Sacred Heart as He went about doing the will of His 
Heavenly Father. He came, as we know, to save 
souls, and although the undertaking meant sorrow 
and suffering, and difficulty and danger, and even 
death, yet the thought that He was living and labor- 
ing for Him who sent Him, made His mission any- 
thing but a hardship. And so Jesus was happy. Let 
the world think and talk as it will ; we believe that 
the last words uttered by Christ from the cross 
expressed the deepest feelings of satisfaction and 



258 Father Walsh 

proclaimed the gladdest tidings of victory. We 
believe, too, that those last words of His, "Con- 
summatum est" — "My work is done," will go 
down the ages not only as the noblest tribute ever 
paid to " duty well done," but also the strongest of 
incentives to God-loving and God-fearing souls to 
follow courageously in the footsteps of their Master, 
and thus learn how to be happy— a lesson clearly 
inculcated on nearly every page of Holy Writ, and 
concisely but beautifully put forth in the inspired 
words of Holy David when he sang : ' ' One thing 
I have asked of the Lord, this will I seek after ; that 
I may dwell in the house"— i. e., in the serving — 
"of the Lord all the days of my life." 

That these words have not lost their meaning ; 
that the light of Christ's example and the beauty 
and truth of His life have not faded from the mem- 
ory of man, are, dear Sisters, facts too palpable to be 
denied ; for, now and here, even as in other times and 
in other places, certain scenes of almost daily occur- 
rence serve to remind us that there are still in our 
midst souls seeking after happiness and finding it— 
but only in " living for God." 

To-day we are the personal and privileged 
witnesses of just such a scene. How impressive it 
is ! To you of the cloister, it may, indeed, seem 
commonplace ; but, oh ! how strange in every feature 
must it be for those who are living in the world, and 
building their hopes of happiness on the shifting 
sands of time ! Such people cannot understand the 
significance of a ceremony like this ; they cannot 
understand how the young and the fair can give up 
their places at the banquet table of pleasure (?) to 
kneel at the foot of the cross ; how they can cast 
aside the rich robes of fashion to don the humble 
habit of a ' ' religieuse. " They cannot understand, I 
say, how these favored few can leave father and 
mother, and home, with its endearing associations — 



Addresses 259 

even though it be to dwell in the house of the Lord. 

Well, let us try to enlighten these worldly minds. 
In their infancy these children of St. Dominic learned 
at their mother's knee to lisp the holy name of God. 
From the memory of those first lispings sprang up, in 
girlhood, the thought and the conviction that God had 
made them for Himself— to know and to love and to 
serve Him in this world, and to secure eternal beati- 
tude with Him in the world to come. 

This thought and this conviction sank day by day 
deeper and deeper into their souls, until finally they 
asked themselves and their Maker the safest and the 
straightest way to the attainment of the end for 
which they were created. Full many a time they knelt 
in chapel and in church, and with eyes riveted on the 
"little golden door," they thus addressed themselves 
to the lonely Prisoner within : ' ' Lord, speak, for Thy 
servants trust in Thee and wish to do Thy will." 
And Jesus did speak. To each of them He said, in the 
gentle, loving language of a Divine friend : ' ' Daugh- 
ter, give Me thy heart." "Learn of Me ; for I am 
meek and humble of heart." "Thou shalt love the 
Lord thy God with thy whole heart, with thy whole 
soul, with all thy mind, and with all thy strength." 
She who loves father or mother more than Me, is 
not worthy of Me." "And, behold, leaving all 
things behind them, they followed Him." "If any 
one will come after Me, let her deny herself ; let her 
take up her cross and follow Me." This is, brethren, 
the simple, true, and only explanation of their will- 
ingness and eagerness to renounce the world, with all 
its pomps and pleasures. They wished to follow the 
surest path to heaven ; they wished to make their 
lives a sweet success and a holy triumph ; they wished 
to make secure their right and their title to heavenly 
happiness. And they knew the best way to crown 
their efforts was to live for God, laboring in His holy 
service "all the days of their lives." 



260 Father Walsh 

Who is it that will question the thought of their 
action or choice ? As usual, the world insinuates that 
this is asking too much of human nature ; it holds 
that self-renunciation is a cruel sacrifice offered on 
the altar of religion. Is the world right ? Before 
answering any question or insinuation, let it be dis- 
tinctly understood that we are not here to combat 
either prejudice or sentimentality ; consequently, 
there are two things with which we must be perfectly 
familiar : first, with what is demanded of the aspir- 
ants to a religious life ; and, secondly, with what is 
promised them in return. 

From the life and example of Jesus Christ, we 
know that the price of a place in the house of the 
Lord is poverty, chastity, obedience, mortification, 
and self-abnegation. For these are the virtues that 
made our Blessed Master what He was— namely, a 
model, and without them, there is and there can be 
no perfect service. As to what is promised to the 
faithful religious for the days and years of her dis- 
ciplehood, we have it upon the word of God Himself, 
that she " shall follow the lamb whithersoever He 
goeth," that heaven shall be given her in exchange 
for earth ; a blessed eternity in exchange for a brief 
span of time called life ; spiritual joys in exchange 
for carnal, perhaps beastly, pleasures ; everlasting 
peace and happiness in exchange for wealth and 
social distinction— those miserable baubles for which 
immortal souls are bartered away every day. 

We are now better prepared to ask and to answer 
the questions : Is this demanding too much of human 
nature ? Is the renunciation of self a cruel sacrifice 
offered on the altar of religion ? The foe of Chris- 
tianity says, "Yes" ; Our Lord Jesus Christ says, 
" No. " Which are we to believe ? Women of fashion 
and folly, the selfish slaves of sin and self-indulgence, 
say, ' ' Yes. " The woman of women — the loveliest lily 
of Israel and the purest rose of Jericho— the Blessed 



Addresses 261 

Mother of God, says, "No." Which are we to be- 
lieve ? Which is worthier of acceptance— the Word 
of Christ or the dictum of the world ? Which is the 
more trustworthy guide to follow ? We leave it to 
any healthy mind to decide between God and the 
world, and to say whether or not these have done 
wisely. 

In passing, let me remind, especially the young 
people who have gathered here to-day, that the ques- 
tion of vocation is one worthy of serious thought. 
The time comes in life when every young woman 
must pause and ask herself : "What is God's will in 
my regard ? Where and how am I to work out my 
salvation ?" Only a fool will take risks in a matter 
upon which depend, in a large measure, her hopes for 
time and eternity. 

Do not be deceived, my dear young friends. 
Things in this world are not always what they seem 
— "All that glitters is not gold." There is, here 
below, as you will learn later, far more shadow that 
sunshine, far more falsehood than truth, far more 
sham than sincerity. Unworthy motives have more 
than once led young people into marriage. If God 
has refused to bless them, if the passing years have 
shattered their dreams of bliss, the fault is all their 
own. They were thoughtless, and experience gen- 
erally teaches the thoughtless many a sad, painful 
lesson. We are not predicting a dark future for 
anyone who, after prayerful consideration, may elect 
to remain in the world ; we are simply pointing out 
stern realities, and reminding you of the solemn 
obligation we are all under of seeking and following 
honestly, intelligently, and courageously, the path 
marked out by the hand of God Himself. If any of 
you should hear the voice of God calling you to a con- 
secrated life, let her not close her ears ; let her not 
count the cost ; for remember, the very thought of 
such transitory interests and deceptive promises as 



262 Father Walsh 

those of earth have sickened millions of noble hearts, 
and have driven thousands of generous souls into the 
desert and into the cloister. 

We can all recall, I presume, one remarkable 
proof of the truth. I refer to the entrance into 
religion of St. Bernard and his five brothers. Every 
inducement was held out to them to cast their lot in 
this world, but they refused. Methinks there has 
never been written a more charming or pathetic page 
than that which tells of the parting of St. Bernard and 
his four brothers from the youngest members of the 
family— a boy of some twelve summers. The narra- 
tive says that on the day appointed for their entrance 
into the monastery, they were turning away from 
their ancestral home, when they saw Mivard, their 
youngest brother, playing near the gate. At first, 
the thought of his tender years, and their deep affec- 
tion for him, made it quite impossible for them to 
take leave of him ; but Guy, who was the oldest and 
the bravest of the little band, finally found courage 
enough to say to him : ' 'Good-bye, Mivard, we are going 
away forever ; all our estates and land will be yours." 

Quick as a flash, the little fellow felt in his heart 
a supreme contempt for earthly riches and the 
distinctions that usually go with them ; so, drying 
the tears that were now coming down his cheeks, 
the youth said, as one inspired: "This is unjust; 
for you are taking the imperishable riches of heaven, 
and leaving me the perishable goods of earth. This 
is unfair treatment. This is an unequal division." 
That child had detected the emptiness of worldly 
happiness, the nothingness of earthly greatness, the 
littleness of the things of time. It was not many 
years after this parting at the gate when those six 
brothers met again — this time at the gate of the 
monastery ; four of them were already Cistercian 
monks ; the sixth— the youngest brother— had come 
to beg admittance. His prayer was granted. 



Addresses 263 

By such incidents, of which ecclesiastical history- 
is full, we are taught, dearly beloved in Christ, to 
see the hand and hear the voice of God, Who lovingly 
leads favored souls into solitude, that He may there 
speak to their hearts, and whisper into their ears 
words of heavenly happiness. "Come unto me," 
He says, "and I will refresh you. I shall be your 
portion and inheritance forever. ' ' " Take upon you 
My yoke, and you will find rest to your souls ; for 
My yoke is sweet and My burden light.' ' 

May we not believe, brethren, that the same 
hand and the same voice which led Bernard and his 
brethren to a consecrated life have also drawn those 
devoted children of St. Dominic " from the midst of 
iniquities,' ' to set them among the princesses in the 
house of the Lord all the days of their lives ? Oh, 
yes ; we may believe it. Aye, more, we must believe 
it ; for only an infinitely great and good father could 
have inspired such a step as this, and given to them 
what many a young life has ofttimes lacked, the 
moral courage to follow in the sacred footsteps of 
their Divine Lord and Master. 

Dear Sisters in Christ, you have been brave be- 
yond your years, and hence, turning to your Blessed 
Saviour, you may say to Him, as did the Apostles of 
old : " Master, we have left all things to follow thee ; 
what, then, shall our reward be ? " And the answer, 
inaudible to the world, comes back in the sweetest of 
voices: " Centuplum accipietis " and "Vitam aeter- 
nam possidebitis " — "You shall receive a hundred- 
fold, and possess life eternal." What a magnificent 
promise! What a generous reward ! No wonder, dear 
young religious, that your hearts are happy to-day. 
Most cordially do we here present congratulate you, 
and say to you, in the language of Holy Writ : ' ' Re- 
joice and be glad, for you have chosen the best part, 
which shall not be taken from you forever." 

In conclusion, we may be permitted to address 



264 Father Walsh 

a few words of special felicitation to them whose 
brows are already veiled. One year ago to-day, or 
thereabouts, you came before this altar to give over 
your hearts into the keeping of a Divine Friend. 
To-day, you are here again to plight unto Him love, 
fidelity and service, and to put on the adornments 
becoming the spouses of Jesus Christ — the crown of 
obedience, the necklace of poverty, the wedding ring 
of chastity, the bracelets of mortification and self- 
abnegation. May the future be powerless to dim the 
luster of such priceless jewels, and may their bril- 
liancy be a light to your feet, leading you to the 
promised land, where the Immaculate Spouse, the 
Heavenly Bridegroom, the Lamb without stain, 
awaits your coming, ready to crown you with dia- 
dems of glory. 

Would you, dear postulants and novices, justify 
our hopes ? Would you dispel from the secular mind 
all doubts as to the wisdom of your choice ? Would 
you realize your own lifelong desires of happiness ? 
Then accept this one word of affectionate advice and 
warning : Take the Blessed Mother of God for your 
model. Invoke every day her maternal help. Pledge 
unto her an honest imitation of her virtues. If you 
do this, she will impart unto you the secrets of holy 
and happy careers. Remember, morning, noon, and 
night, that you have renounced the world, and that 
henceforth you belong to God. Therefore, deem not 
that the work is done until you have, as far as in 
your power lies, shut out from the cloister the spirit, 
the temptations, the conversations, and the interests 
of earth. Worldliness is the rock upon which many 
a religious life has been wrecked. 

When you have removed this obstacle from the 
path of perfection, then, indeed, your lives will be, 
as St. Paul says, "Hidden with Christ in God, and 
when Christ shall appear Who is your life, then shall 
you also appear with Him in glory.' ' — Col. iii, 3-4. 



Addresses 265 

This is our prayer for you, and may the angels 
ever re-echo it, even to the throne of God, to Whom 
Holy David prayed when he said : ' ' One thing I 
have asked of the Lord, this will I seek after ; that 
I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days 
of my life." 



PATRONAGE OF ST. JOSEPH. 

"Well done, thou good and faithful ser- 
vant: enter thou into the joy of the Lord." 
—Matt, xxv, 21. 

Dearly Beloved Brethren : 

Were it the good fortune of a stranger to religion 
to wend his way to-day to this beautiful and stately 
edifice, he could not but find many and strong reasons 
for asking himself the meaning of this solemn scene 
and the object of this vast gathering. 

Why these flowers and lights ? Why these soul- 
stirring strains of the organ and the choir ? Why 
this presence in our sanctuary of a prelate, robed in 
all the insignia of his sacred office ? True, these 
features of this service have a message and a mean- 
ing for the people of St. Joseph's Parish, but they 
fail to reveal the nature and purpose of this celebra- 
tion to him who is not of the fold. Such a one, on 
such a day, and in such a place as this, must be left 
to his own thoughts and musings. 

Had the Catholic Church ever proved recreant to 
her Divine mission, had she ever bowed low before 
worldly greatness or worldly achievement, possibly 
might that stranger conclude that we are here as- 
sembled to honor the genius of some statesman, or to 
praise the hero of some battlefield. 

Oh ! how far beyond the comprehension of the 
worldly mind are the ways of God and of God's 



266 Father Walsh 

Church ! We admit, in the long ago there was no 
religion save humanity ; that men deified their fel- 
lows, and erected altars to science and to learning, 
to eloquence and to art. We will not dispute the 
fact that in the temple of fame were written high 
the names of the favored few who had, wittingly or 
unwittingly, used their talents and the opportunities 
of life for self-glorification, rather than for the 
greater honor and glory of the Gracious Giver of all 
good gifts. 

But will we, and can we say that these principles 
and features obtain to-day ? No ; for the world has 
grown older and wiser. Christianity has burst the 
bubble of human egotism, and the light of the Gospel 
of Christ has shown how shallow are all the claims 
of earthly ambition to renown and to everlasting re- 
membrance. With a faith as infallible as God Him- 
self, we have inherited, brethren, more lofty stand- 
ards of excellence, more sublime ideals of duty, 
truer measurements of worth, and so we differ from 
the world as to what constitutes greatness. We say 
in the same breath with religion and with religion's 
handmaid — right reason— that there is no greatness 
but goodness, and that only the good are great and 
worthy of prayer and praise. 

Hence it is that we build our most costly churches 
to the honor of Him "Who went about doing good " ; 
that we consecrate our grandest altars to the memory 
of the Good Shepherd ; that we hold up, in story, in 
art. and in song, for the admiration of succeeding 
generations, the name and the works of the Good 
Samaritan. 

As might have been suspected, brethren, the life 
of Jesus, the Good Shepherd and the Good Samari- 
tan, left its impress on the world. His lowly birth 
was a blow to selfishness and to pride ; His very pres- 
ence touched and thrilled men's hearts, and filled 
them with a courage and a constancy hitherto un- 



Addresses 267 

known to earth ; His example ennobled humility, en- 
riched poverty, and blessed obedience. In a word, so 
great was the power for good which went out from 
Him, that the greater and better portion of mankind 
soon began to forget its false gods, realizing the emp- 
tiness of human greatness, and the foolishness of 
human wisdom. Another effect of this new influence 
was that many of those who came within the influence 
of the Saviour's teaching sought the things that are 
above ; that is, they soared above and beyond things 
temporal, and left littleness to the world. They 
became other Christs, great saints, men and women 
whose names will live in memory to the end of time. 

Among those most worthy to be called truly good 
and great, and consequently privileged to live in lov- 
ing and lasting remembrance, is St. Joseph, the fos- 
ter-father of the Son of God, the spouse of the Blessed 
Virgin Mary, the head of the Holy Family, the guard- 
ian angel of purity, the exemplar of humility, the 
type of obedience, the model of the Christian laborer, 
the Patron of the Universal Church — that good and 
faithful servant, the feast of whose patronage, the 
world over, we keep to-day with glad and grateful 
hearts. 

The story of St. Joseph's life never will and 
never can be told in detail ; for, according to a seem- 
ingly preordained plan, God's greatest and dearest 
ones are without biographies. History is careful to 
record the wars of an ambitious Alexander, and to 
tell us of the conquests of a conceited Caesar, but she 
had no time to transmit to us an account of Christ's 
sayings and sacrifices during eighteen long years. 
The chronicler found leisure to gather legends with- 
out number, but he had no spare time to devote to 
many interesting incidents in the life of our Blessed 
Lady. Whole volumes have been written in the vain 
attempt to justify, or at least palliate, the crimes of 
profligate kings and queens, but not one authentic 



268 Father Walsh 

chapter was written by his contemporaries to remind 
us of St. Joseph, the illustrious son of an illustrious 
house. 

And yet, brethren, this indifference of history, 
this oversight of men, or call it by whatever name 
you will, has not impaired the luster of our Saint's 
goodness and greatness. His memory has survived 
the test of time, for even now, after a lapse of nearly 
two thousand years, the name of that Just Man, 
Faithful Father and Holy Spouse is a household word 
wherever the Gospel has been preached. Heaven 
itself has fitly and forever interwoven the story of 
his simple, unselfish, God-fearing life with the mis- 
sion of Jesus and the name of Mary. Like them, he 
belongs henceforth to the world, and his altar is 
found in every Catholic Church, side by side with 
theirs. 

We have no apologies to offer, dearly beloved 
brethren, for thus honoring St. Joseph ; we are 
simply carrying out the injunction of sacred writers. 
St. Paul says : " ' Render, therefore, honor to whom 
honor is due." Again, it is written in the Book of 
Ecclesiasticus : ' ' Let the people show forth the 
wisdom of the saints, and the Church declare their 
praise." Finally, we read in the Book of Esther 
these significant words : ' ' Thus shall be honored, 
whom the king hath a mind to honor." 

But, brethren, what are the specific reasons or 
arguments for our deep devotion to the ' ' Ruler of 
God's house," and for the holding up of his life as a 
model to be imitated ? We can all understand why 
the world loves Jesus Christ ; we can all explain the 
well-nigh world-wide honor paid to Mary Immacu- 
late ; but why do we, intelligent men and women, 
turn to noiseless Nazareth, and cherish the memory 
of a once obscure carpenter ? 

Will the Church which spoke thus over nineteen 
hundred years ago betray now the interests of the 



Addresses 269 

masses ? Will she refuse to lend a helping hand for 
the righting of labor's wrongs ? Never. 

To-day she invokes for you, and for the whole 
working world, a friend's intercession. St. Joseph 
knows the sorrows of the poor ; he feels for the op- 
pressed ; he will obtain for you and for me strength 
and grace to bear with life's ills, to sanctify life's 
sufferings, and to fight bravely life's battle. Nay, 
more ; we feel that he will obtain, especially for the 
ideal father and the ideal laborer, a place in the ever- 
lasting house of peace and rest. This is, after all, 
brethren, the only adequate answer to our aspira- 
tions, and the only sweet reward for honest, upright 
living. 

Be true to yourselves and to your God. Love 
labor, for it is one of nature's first laws. The day is 
coming when the great ones of this world will be- 
come little, and the little ones great, and when the 
faithful imitators of the humble, pious, temperate, 
honest St. Joseph will hear from the lips of a Divine 
Master the consoling words of our text : "Well done, 
thou good and faithful servant : enter thou into the 
joy of thy Lord." 

ST. PATRICK. 

1 ' He was beloved of God and man, and his 
memory is in benediction." — Eccles. xlv, 1. 

Rev. Father, Dearly Beloved Brethren : 

These words, taken from the forty-fifth chapter 
and first verse of Ecclesiasticus, were written of 
Moses, the patriarch leader and lawgiver of Israel. 
They epitomize the worth of a true man, and sum- 
marize the highest tribute ever paid to human good- 
ness and greatness. 

If we make bold to quote these words for a text, 
and to apply them this evening to Ireland's Patron 



270 Father Walsh 

Saint, our only justification maybe found in the fact, 
that they are well calculated to remind us of the 
sanctity of his life, and of the success of his labors 
in behalf of a nation that still holds his memory in 
benediction. 

From his earliest years the Apostle of Ireland 
seems to have been beloved of God, and predestined 
by Heaven for high and holy things ; he seems to 
have been called, as was Moses of old, to be a leader 
and lawgiver, for to him came, under very peculiar 
and very pathetic circumstances, the pleadings of a 
pagan people for the light and law of the Gospel of 
Christ. 

Needless to say, brethren, our future saint could 
not have honestly mistaken the nature of that call, 
neither could he have wisely ignored it ; for it was 
precisely to prepare him for just such an arduous 
mission that Almighty God had so severely disci- 
plined his soul in the school of sorrow, suffering, and 
sacrifice. To all lasting fame, such a preparation is, 
indeed, the common preface ; for human experience 
teaches us that no man has ever yet succeeded in 
achieving anything truly great and enduring without 
having first passed through the Divine crucible of 
trial and affliction. 

Trial and affliction are the infallible tests of 
character, strength, fidelity and virtue ; and passing 
through the Divine crucible is what we call "mould- 
ing the natural to supernatural ideals/ ' It is what 
we call "lifting us out of ourselves and making us 
other Christs" — men and women strong enough to 
do and to dare, and to bear all things, even death 
itself, if needs be, for the glory of God or the good of 
humanity. 

Hence, if the labors of St. Patrick still yield an 
abundant harvest, and his memory be still in bene- 
diction, the reason is not far to seek nor hard to find. 
Like his Divine Master and Model, he was no stranger 



Addresses 271 

to the dark side of life. When only sixteen years of 
age he was taken from his home by a band of pirates 
and sold as a slave to an Irish landowner, who made 
him the shepherd of his sheep. Imitating the exam- 
ple of the one true Good Shepherd, Patrick strove 
faithfully to fulfill his humble duties. He soon learned 
to love privations and discomforts. Uncomplainingly, 
and for ten long years, he bore with hunger, and 
thirst, and nakedness, and cruel treatment, and 
loneliness. One might reasonably suppose a mere 
youth incapable of such endurance and unequal to 
such a struggle ; but, strange to say, the misery of 
his life and the hardship of his lot only served to 
make him a better, a braver, a stronger, manlier 
man — one who was willing to abide God's good time, 
and to trust implicitly in the wisdom of His ways. 
What a lesson there is in all this for Christians and 
Catholics of these our days ! With such an exemplar 
before our eyes, who among us can, in the future, 
fail to have courage in adversity and confidence in 
Divine Providence ? 

At times, brethren, there comes to us all a mo- 
ment of dereliction — days of darkness — when even 
God seems to abandon us. Why do so many of us 
lose heart at such times and on such occasions ? 
Men and women of little faith, as most of us are, we 
sink beneath the waters of discouragement and de- 
spair, just as if there were no God to hear us, no 
Father and Friend to help us. What a strange con- 
tradiction between profession and practice ! What 
if our struggles be against principalities and powers 
— is not the Lord able to snatch victory from the jaws 
of defeat ? And what if the night be long, and dark, 
and dismal ? Will morning never break ? Will the 
sun that sank to-night behind the western hills never 
rise and shine again ? Why mistrust the promises of 
the Eternal One ! Surely, He is able to bring light 
out of darkness and good out of evil. Did Provi- 



272 Father Walsh 

dence permit the young slave whose feast we keep 
to-day to remain always a slave ? No. In due sea- 
son God brought him back to his home, restored him 
to the eager arms of friends and to the aching hearts 
of loving parents. Here, in his old home — amid the 
scenes and associations of his childhood— Patrick 
might have lived his Mfe in ease and in luxury, as 
happy and as free from care as the birds of the 
air. 

Fortunately for himself and for us, Ireland's 
prelate-to-be resisted the temptation. Just think, 
brethren, at what a fearful cost he would have 
bought selfishness and self-indulgence ! The truth 
is, had he listened to the temptation, he would have 
lost the one opportunity given him of winning the 
love of God and men, and of securing to himself the 
honor of an undying name. What a pity it is that 
men and women are not more self-sacrificing and 
less self-seeking. Nowadays, Christians have be- 
come intensely selfish, thus virtually burying the 
talents entrusted to them by a good God, and prac- 
tically losing their chief est claim to eternal life. For 
in the Gospel our Blessed Lord says: "If any man 
will come after Me, let him deny himself, let him 
take up his cross daily, and follow Me." 

But most of us are so selfish, so self-seeking, so 
self-indulgent, that we have but little time to follow 
Christ ; little time to do as He would do. We have 
but little time to think of our less fortunate fellows, 
and still less inclination to stoop down and raise them 
up out of their moral and social degradation. Hap- 
pily, no such charge can be laid up against him 
whose name a grateful nation whispers to-day in 
prayer and shouts in song ; for our dear St. Patrick 
early resolved to live and to labor for others, and 
so, giving himself up to duty, and becoming a priest 
of God, he awaited only a sign from heaven as to 
where lay the field of his ministry. He had not 



Addresses 273 

long to wait, for the Most High revealed His will to 
him in a most extraordinary manner. 

One day, as the young priest was kneeling, ab- 
sorbed in prayer, he saw in a vision the little children 
of his old-time master running towards him with out- 
stretched arms, the while weeping and crying out : 
"Oh! priest of God, come back and save us— we 
are perishing. ' ' Yes, they were perishing ; not, in- 
deed, for the want of bread, but rather for the want 
of the Word of God. For, so it is written, "Man 
liveth not by bread alone, but by every word that 
proceedeth out of the mouth of God." This inspired 
invitation was promptly heeded. Patrick lost no 
time thinking of the magnitude of the task that lay 
before him ; it was enough that he had been called. 
It was enough for him that his eyes had been opened 
to the saddest of all sights, his ears to the pleading 
of charity, his heart to the needs of a nation. He 
was young, zealous, pious. In a word, he was all 
that a trained soldier of the cross should be. 

But before beginning the battle for immortal 
souls, the young Levite felt the need of a commission 
from his superior officer ; for, recalling to mind the 
words of St. Paul, he said within himself : ' ' How 
shall I preach unless I be sent V Hence, about the 
year 431, our saint turned his steps towards Rome. 
There he obtained an audience with the then reigning 
Sovereign Pontiff, Clement I. , to whom he explained 
the purpose of his visit. The Vicar of Christ was 
deeply impressed not only by the simplicity and 
sincerity of the stranger, but also and more espe- 
cially by the truth of his story. As an evidence of 
his interest and approval, the Holy Father com- 
manded that Patrick be consecrated Bishop. This 
having been done, the Supreme Head of the Church 
blessed the new Bishop, and bade him in the name 
of the Lord to enter at once on his mission of mercy ; 
namely, the conversion of the Irish race. 



274 Father Walsh 

As we turn over the pages of history, we find 
there, brethren, no work more wonderful, no 
achievement more glorious, no undertaking more 
successful, than was the conversion of Ireland to the 
faith of Christ. There is an old saying to the effect 
that "Rome was not built in a day." Whether it 
was or was not, is now of no consequence. But we 
say that in the land of our forefathers there was 
accomplished, some fifteen hundred years ago, a feat 
incomparably greater than would have been even the 
building of Imperial Rome in a day. That feat was 
the perfect and peaceful submission of a whole 
nation to the sweet yoke of Christianity within an 
incredibly short space of time. Upon his arrival, 
St. Patrick found Ireland entirely pagan. When he 
died, he left it entirely Christian and Catholic. 
Another feat worthy of note is this. : the sowing of 
the seed of faith in new fields usually costs years 
and years of unstinted labor, and of ttimes floods of 
martyrs' blood. Erin alone is the one edifying ex- 
ception to this law of spiritual resistance. Hence, it 
has been wittily remarked that an Irishman is a 
Christian and a Catholic even before he receives the 
Sacrament of Baptism. Indeed, it seems very like a 
truism to say that Divine Faith is the natural birth- 
right of every son and daughter of Ireland. 

History attributes to Caesar the boastful saying : 
1 Veni, vidi, vici ! " — "I came, I saw, I conquered ! " 
Panegyrists and biographers are not offending either 
truth or humility when they say the same of Iver- 
nia's first Bishop. For he came to an island then 
the most unknown, since then called the ' ' Emerald 
Gem of the Ocean. ' ' And as he was about to take 
possession of his new home, he saw before him the 
most rugged of shores, above him the bluest of skies, 
and all round about him the most verdant of valleys 
and the greenest of hillsides. And he saw there, too, 
a people blessed with the kindliest of natures, with 



Addresses 275 

the brightest of intellects, with the noblest of 
souls. 

But, over and above this picture of a fair land 
and a fair people, there hung one dark cloud. 
Patrick had seen the nation — its clans, its bards, and 
its chiefs — prostrated before the altars of false gods. 
This sight grieved him to the heart, for here indeed 
was, to his mind, a misery a thousand times worse 
than his erstwhile slavery. Then and there he 
determined to strike a bold blow for that ' ' freedom 
wherewith Christ hath made us free." The time 
chosen was the eve of Easter ; the place, the halls of 
Tara. Every student of history knows how the 
sound of that blow, namely, the lucid and earnest 
plea of St. Patrick for the faith of Christ, reverber- 
ated from one end of the Emerald Isle to the other, 
and resulted in a new nation springing into spiritual 
existence, a nation which from that day to this has 
steadfastly refused to bend either its knee or its 
head to any altars save those of Catholic faith. The 
servant of God had indeed conquered for Christ. 
Like Caesar of old, St. Patrick could say : ' ' Veni, 
vidi, vici ! "— " I came, I saw. I conquered ! " 

Gratitude does not permit such victories to go un- 
sung ; and hence it is that the children of the old sod 
make merry to-day and gather in thousands round 
the altars of God. Nor are the absent ones unmind- 
ful on this anniversary of their mother's festive 
happiness ; for, though separated from her by many 
a league of land and sea, every exile of Erin is sure 
to revisit in memory to-day, the home of his youth, 
and the scene of his childhood. 

Would that Ireland had escaped the jealous eye 
of the prince of darkness ! Would that it had con- 
tinued to be what its first apostle and his co-laborers 
made it, namely, a nursery of piety, a center of learn- 
ing, and a fruitful mother of saints and scholars t 
Does the world consider these titles extravagant ? 



276 Father Walsh 

No doubt it does. Well, we are not surprised, nor 
would we be surprised if they elicited the cynical 
smile of those who are forever paying tribute to 
modern methods and seeking the apotheosis of latter- 
day genius. But we do not hesitate to call such 
people " fanatics "— fools who believe in one idea, in 
one system, in one civilization, and that, of course, 
their own. They are too narrow to be just to men of 
times past. Nevertheless, aside from some discov- 
eries and inventions of undoubted worth, the fame of 
ancient Ireland for learning, and her superiority in 
the arts and sciences, are known and recognized by 
all men. 

Thousands of the youth of Europe flocked to her 
shores, and from the halls of her universities carried 
back to their homes the light of knowledge, and a 
knowledge of the light of Him who was and is the 
Light of the world. " Ego sum lux mundi." Incal- 
culable, therefore, might have been the benefits to 
society, and to the world at large, had Ireland been 
permitted to prosecute her work of instructing and 
uplifting humanity. But this was not to be. Her 
peace was too profound, her happiness too unalloyed, 
her fame too great, her faith too bright. Spurred on 
by the promise of rich spoils, the barbarous Danes 
began to invade the land. Suffice it to say that the 
country never fully recovered from these cruel 
attacks. True, heroic efforts were put forth by the 
people to rebuild their Church and their institutions 
of learning, but much of the glory and splendor of 
Irish civilization had departed, never to return, at 
least not in the same fullness. 

In the year 1156 a power-seeking king completed 
the conquest of "the Green Isle," and made it a 
dependency of Great Britain. No wonder, then, that 
the strings of Erin's harp are silent, or at least 
turned (keyed) to the note of sadness ; no wonder 
her language and her literature are sleeping beside 



Addresses 277 

the tomb in which her liberties lie buried ; no wonder 
her art is most perfect, when it pictures smoulder- 
ing ruins and crumbling cloisters ; no wonder the 
rhymes are tenderest and truest when they tell of 
the poor exile's fond farewell to home, and kindred, 
and country. Show me the man whose feelings are 
untouched by the story of Ireland's sorrows, and 
I will show you a man in whose body the Lord has 
placed a soul without sympathy and a heart without 
pity. 

But while weeping o'er ' the most distressed 
country that ever you did see, ' ' let us not lose sight 
of the fact, brethren, that Ireland has still some 
claims to distinction, some rights to the world's ad- 
miration. Invasion and devastation and oppression 
did not blot out every vestige of her greatness and 
glory. They did not break the last link binding her 
past to her present and her future, as was the case, 
for instance, when Attila — the scourge — conquered 
a tribe or a nation. Tradition says that when Attila 
passed by, even the grass withered and died, to grow 
no more. 

Thank God, extinction was not the lot of Hiber- 
nia. True, barbarians and tyrants destroyed her 
liberties, revised her laws, changed her customs, and 
remodelled her cities. But there was just one thing 
that neither tyrant nor barbarian could destroy, 
revise, change, or remodel, and that was the faith 
once sowed by St. Patrick in the Irish hearts and 
homes. Brethren, the world may say many things 
against our kinsmen across the sea, but this it can 
never say : that they were traitors to their con- 
science. We admit that now the people of Ireland 
have not the same churches and the same altars as 
of yore, but they have the same essentials of the 
Catholic faith, the same sacrifice, the same sacra- 
ments, the same prayers, the same hopes of heaven. 
These things do not change. They cannot be de- 



278 Father Walsh 

stroyed. They are of God, and, like God, they are 
forever the same, unchangeable and indestructible. 

Yes, the faith of Ireland is the one beacon light 
between her past and her future ; and it will be the 
one only ray of sunshine and hope to illumine her 
future. For more than fifteen hundred years the 
Irish race has clung to the faith of Jesus Christ, and 
for the greater part of this time she has been faith- 
ful through the most inhuman and relentless of per- 
secutions. I will not, for I cannot, tell you, breth- 
ren, the whole sad story to-night ; time would not 
permit it. Besides, that story ought to be first writ- 
ten in letters of blood. We can excuse a down- 
trodden people for seeking the recital of their wrongs 
and sufferings, but, after all, it is better to leave the 
history of seven hundred years of unparalleled out- 
rage to the silence, execration and condemnation of 
all just men. 

Just men, like a just God, must condemn this 
monstrous abuse of power, and they and we cannot but 
turn away in horror when we think of a generous, 
gentle people being cast into prison, led to the scaffold, 
thrown to the flames, and put to the sword. And 
for what ? For daring to cherish and profess in the 
open the faith once delivered to our forefathers by 
saintly lips. There is not, in all Ireland to-day, a 
single cave or a lonely hillside, but has been reddened 
by Irish Catholic blood. This fact may in a measure 
explain why the shamrock grows always so green. 
Blood flowed freely over the soil, and someone has 
said that blood is a good fertilizer. 

But this was not all. The prison, the scaffold, 
the flame and the sword were not the only weapons 
used by licentious kings and queens for the dethrone- 
ment of religion in Ireland. Baser methods than 
these were brought into play. Tempting bribes were 
freely offered to weak apostates, and the most allur- 
ing promises of wealth and social prestige were 



Addresses 279 

openly made to men of genius and influence if they 
would betray, as did Judas, the cause of God and of 
His Christ. Borrowing the thought, and always the 
most exact words of Ireland's patriot poet, history 
can say : 

"Unprized were her sons till they learned to betray, 
Undistinguished they lived if they shamed not 
their sires ; 
And the torch that would light them through dig- 
nity's way, 
Had to be caught from the pile where their faith 
expires. 

If Celtic Catholics of to-day have one reason 
more than another for feeling grateful to God, surely 
it ought to be the constancy and the fidelity of their 
ancestors to the faith. 

When the storm of religious persecution swept 
over Europe, not a few countries are known to have 
meekly submitted to the dictates of intolerance, and 
to have meekly surrendered their religion — the price- 
less gift of God. Not so with Ireland. Her faith 
was a deathless inheritance, a possession to be de- 
fended at any cost. And so we see the Isle of the 
Sea, like the giant oak of the forest, bravely with- 
standing the tempest, and baffling even the brutality 
of bigotry. Remembering the days of old, we may 
make our very own these soulful words of Ireland's 
sweet singer, Moore, when he says : 

"You may break, you may shatter, the vase if you 
will, 
But the scent of the roses will hang 'round it still." 

The heavenly aroma of Catholicity still hangs over 
the land of our forefathers, and every newly born 
Irish babe breathes it in with the health and the 
strength and the life-giving air. 

Posterity will never write for the Irish race 



280 Father Walsh 

either a motto or an epitaph. Both were written in 
the long ago by St. Paul, when he said: "I have 
fought the good fight. ... I have kept the 
faith/ ' Holy Scripture says that the ways of Provi- 
dence are mysterious. We have never doubted the 
truth ; but, brethren, we find to-day a fresh confirma- 
tion of it in the history of poor Ireland. It is passing 
strange that she has never had a friend at court. 
Surely the Lord must have a noble destiny in store for 
her whom he has thus kept so long in political bond- 
age and in the Divine crucible of trial and affliction. 
Such at least are the fond hopes of her children and 
of her friends the world over. Their hopes have 
been beautifully voiced in the words of the poet : 

' ' Erin, oh ! Erin, though long in the shade, 
Thy star will shine out when the proudest shall 
fade." 

Be this as it may, one thing is certain : England 
has succeeded in deceiving the world on the ' ' Irish 
Question/ ' Cuba has not suffered one-half the 
wrongs to which Ireland has patiently submitted ; and 
yet Cuba found in our humane government a friend 
and a deliverer. My brethren, we believe that wrong 
is wrong everywhere, and that injustice and inhu- 
manity, wherever found, ought to be righted. 

No need to prove to an intelligent gathering like 
this that Ireland is, even now, suffering from the 
mistakes of government. No soil on God's footstool 
is more fertile or more fruitful than hers. Her har- 
bors court the commerce of the world ; her rivers are 
capable of the most effective navigation ; and yet she 
suffers to-day from such industrial stagnation and 
abject poverty that a celebrated writer called her, 
only a few years ago, the " poorhouse of Europe." 
Is this right ? Is this just ? Her sons and daughters 
are brave, generous and intelligent, and yet they 
must seek foreign shores ere they can rise to promi- 



Addresses 281 

nence and distinction. Is this right ? Is this just ? 
During the last fifty years misrule, coercion and evic- 
tion have driven more than 4,000,000 Irishmen and 
Irish women into exile. Is this right ? Is this just ? 

Where is the president, the king, or the queen that 
has any legitimate right to take the young maiden 
from her mother's side and to send her adrift into 
the wide world, to battle, ofttimes single-handed 
and alone, against the temptations of human devils ? 
Why, brethren, such a contention is ridiculous. Rea- 
son, humanity, religion, call such a claim a brutal 
abuse of power, which has helped to fill with lost 
souls the slums of your city — and the slums of every 
city. Yes, thousands of the fair daughters of Erin, 
driven into exile by poverty, and deprived of their 
mother's watchful care, have fallen into the moral 
pitfalls of distant lands, and have ended their lives 
in sin and shame. Is it right ? Is it just ? 

To justify the harsh treatment of a conquered 
people, England tells the world that the Irish are 
violent and ignorant. If the accusation of violence is 
true, we ask, in all honesty, who made them violent ? 
After seven hundred years of oppression, it is hard 
to see how they could be more patient. Here is a 
case where patience ceases to be a virtue. As for the 
charge of ignorance, we have only this to say in de- 
fense of our Celtic brethren : if they be ignorant, 
they are not so by nature ; therefore, they have been 
made ignorant by tyranny. And hence, England 
stands before the world accused and condemned of a 
most monstrous crime, a crime which for enormity 
is second only to the crucifixion of Christ. 

We have done. On this feast we pray that a 
better and a brighter day may soon dawn on the land 
of our love. May her children keep sacred each re- 
curring seventeenth of March, as the Memorial Day 
of her country's past sorrows, present struggles, and 
future aspirations. So, Irish fathers and mothers. 



282 Father Walsh 

tell your children and your children's children to be 
proud of the shamrock and the land of their sires ; 
tell them not to blush for the wearing of the green ; 
tell them the story of their forefathers' suffering for 
the faith. Teach them to imitate the virtues of Ire- 
land's Patron Saint. Teach them that he was gentle, 
pure, and true to his God. Teach them that He hates 
and despises him who degrades himself by drunken- 
ness, and thus heaps contempt upon his creed and 
ridicule upon his country. Finally, teach them that 
St. Patrick was "beloved of God and men, and that 
his name must be kept in benediction." 



MONTH OF MAY. 
"Hail, Mary, full of grace." 

Dearly Beloved Brethren : 

To-day we begin the month of May, calling us 
away, as it does, so soon from the tomb of our risen 
Saviour, around which many of us have lovingly 
lingered in spirit since the morning of the Resurrec- 
tion. Its bright and beautiful dawning naturally and 
happily turns our thoughts to one who now snares 
with Him, in heaven, His immortal victory over Satan 
and sin. 

It brings before our minds, does this first day of 
May, the purest of flowers, the Rose of Jericho, the 
Lily of Israel. It tells us of the fairest of maidens, 
of the holiest of women, the truest of friends, and 
the fondest of mothers. It reminds us vividly of the 
Blessed Virgin Mary, whose name and whose glory 
are second only to the name and glory of Jesus 
Christ. Son and mother, they were ever bound to- 
gether by the tenderest ties that can unite two human 
hearts. Who, then, would dare separate them ? In 
prophecy and fulfillment, Mary's place has always 



Addresses 

been beside her Divine Son. Who, then, can ever 
know Him and honor Him without at the same time 
knowing and honoring His Mother ? 

This is the simple, though solid and sufficient 
reason, dearly beloved brethren, why we Catholics 
love so tenderly our Blessed Lady. This fact ex- 
plains, too, why we consecrate to her name and 
memory so many of our churches, chapels and altars ; 
why we celebrate with happy hearts her chosen feast 
days ; why we wear so constantly the scapular ; why 
we tell so often our rosary, and why so many of our 
pious children repeat, morning, noon and night, that 
touching prayer known as the Angelus. 

All this seems, of course, strange to non-Catholics, 
who for the most part are prone to ridicule, and treat 
as idolatrous every form of devotion to Mary Immac- 
ulate. We can discover but one possible excuse for 
such a mistake ; it must come either from deeply 
seated prejudice or deeply rooted ignorance. Ignor- 
ance and prejudice have been from the beginning the 
enemies of light and truth. 

What most people want nowadays is a better in- 
sight into Catholic teaching. For we feel sure that a 
little sober thought and study would reveal to our 
bitterest enemies a world of moral beauty and 
harmony of which they know nothing. In a word, a 
little honest study would point out nothing in the 
whole system of Christianity more natural or just, 
and more spontaneous, than devotion to the Queen of 
Heaven. It lies in the depths of our hearts like a 
spring of pure water, which must work its way into 
outward expression, unless we do violence to our 
nature and prevent it. 

Let us briefly prove these premises. It is cheer- 
fully admitted by everyone that it is natural to love 
persons in whom we find graces and virtues. All 
are agreed, too, that the greater the graces, and the 
more numerous the virtues possessed, the greater 



284 Father Walsh 



deeper will necessarily be our love and admi- 
ration for the possessor. Even those who do not 
practise virtue will allow as much as this. But, my 
brethren, what tongue or pen will ever tell us the 
measure of Mary's graces, the number of her 
virtues ! 

Eminent writers, profound theologians, saintly 
men and women of every time and clime, have all 
shrunk from the undertaking as from an impossible 
task. In all the range of our reading, we have never 
yet found but one adequate expression of her great- 
ness and goodness. On the day of the Annunciation 
a messenger of the Most High sought her in her 
humble home at Nazareth. Finding her soul, as it 
ever was, in holy and perfect communion with her 
God, he said to her: "Hail, Mary, full of grace. 
The Lord is with thee ; blessed art thou among 
women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus." 
Never were words more pregnant with meaning ; 
but it is only when we meditate on the mighty mys- 
teries they contain that we begin fully to appreciate 
the unique and privileged place Mary holds in the 
Divine economy. 

Chosen by God to be the future mother of His 
Son, was it not meet and proper that she should be 
blessed above all other creatures ? Was it not meet 
and proper that every grace and virtue should be 
lavished on her, whose virginal body was to be the 
most sacred of dwelling-places and the most honored 
of homes ? In that home — the body of the Virgin 
Mary — and from its substance the Son of the Living 
God was to frame His own body, which was to save 
and sanctify the world by its blood. 

mystery of mysteries ! We do not seek to 
fathom such depths, but we do seek to know, my 
brethren, if there exists in this world a man who, 
loving His Saviour, and grateful for his redemption, 

deny to Mary the plenitude of grace and virtue. 



Addresses 235 

For the honor of the human race, we dislike to think 
of a possible case ; but if such a one should exist, 
then we say, with Holy Church, let him be anathema, 
let him be accursed. For right reason and revelation 
forbid us to hold such a doctrine. And, as for us, 
the grateful children of a gracious mother, let us 
sing to-day, and every day of May especially, the 
praises of our Blessed Lady. Let us say to her to- 
day, and every day, in the language of the Arch- 
angel : "Hail, Mary, full of grace;" or with the 
inspired author of the canticles : ' ' Thou art all fair, 
my love, my beautiful one, and there is no stain in 
thee." 

Where there is no stain, no sin, there, my breth- 
ren, is rarest purity, is perfect beauty. These graces 
we naturally love and admire whenever and wher- 
ever we meet them, as we now assuredly do in the 
life and character of the Blessed Virgin Mother. In 
the second place, we say it is just to love and honor 
Mary, because it is just, as well as natural, to love 
and honor a benefactor. 

Gratitude is one of the glories of the human 
heart. Without it, we can never rise to the full 
dignity of our manhood or womanhood. Its absence 
abases us to the level of a brute beast. Now, my 
brethren, we may and should accuse of ingratitude 
the man who refuses love and devotion to Mary, for 
she has proven herself a most munificent benefactor. 
Her blessings, countless in number, have been scat- 
tered broadcast over the whole world. She has been 
a star of hope to all nationalities, the friend of the 
young and the old, the rich and the poor, the saint 
and the sinner. We all of us are indebted to our 
Heavenly Mother ; but on none has she such strong 
claims as on her own sex. To womankind she has 
given, as it were, a new life, a welcome resurrection ; 
for the condition of woman, even among civilized 
nations, was most degrading before the coming of the 



286 Father Walsh 

Immaculate Virgin. The most virtuous and promi- 
nent of pagan writers scoffed at chastity, while they 
applauded the public games of ancient Rome and 
Greece, which were nothing if not shameless exhibi- 
tions of the absence of womanly modesty. In the 
days of the Caesars, and for some time after, there 
was no equality between the sexes. Woman had no 
rights, no privileges — she was a slave. To-day, how- 
ever, every self-respecting woman is a queen, thanks 
to the justice of God and the sweet magic spell held 
over the hearts of men by the Virgin Queen of 
Heaven. Women are now mistresses of their homes, 
and when they leave them to go abroad in the world, 
men give place to them, and rival one another in 
their attention to them. 

In centuries gone by, women were put to death 
with impunity. To-day, the man who lifts his hand 
to strike one of the weaker sex, be she sister, wife, 
or mother, is branded as a most contemptible and 
despicable coward. And how shall we account, my 
dear brethren, for this change ? Simply in this way : 
Going back in spirit, over nineteen hundred years 
ago, to the morning of the Annunciation, we see an 
archangel kneeling at a woman's feet. This vision 
gives to womankind a charm and a loveliness which 
otherwise she would not have. More than this — that 
vision has filled every generous heart, from that day 
to this, with a deep reverence and an ever-increasing 
filial love for the humble handmaid of the Lord. 
We shall not, for we cannot, forget the large part 
she took in the work of our redemption. 

For our sakes, her whole life was one unbroken 
series of sorrows. Even those quiet years, when she 
had Jesus to herself in Nazareth, even they were not 
cloudless, because of Venerable Simeon's words, 
foretelling the blackest crime, the saddest event 
recorded in the annals of the world — the crucifixion 
of her Son on Calvary's height. She could never 



Addresses 287 

kiss the brow of her child without thinking of the 
crown of thorns, nor take His little hands in hers 
without seeing and feeling the bleeding prints of the 
rough nails. 

One would naturally imagine that when the 
Mother of Sorrows pressed to her heart, on Good 
Friday, the lifeless body of Jesus, there remained in 
it nothing but the bitterest aversion towards us 
sinners ! Ah, how little we know of Mary's heart ! 
Remember, my brethren she was then, is now, and 
always will be, our Mother ; consequently, she has 
for us a mother's love. Most of us duly realize what 
this means. In fact, we who have felt such a love 
can duly sympathize with those who have never 
known it ; for we believe that such a loss robs life of 
more than half its sunshine. 

In affliction, in sickness, and in death, there is 
no balm so soothing as a mother's care, no touch so 
gentle as hers, no look so loving, no voice so sweet. 
Men may and do change with years. They love 
many of the virtues that sweetened childhood, honor 
manhood, and will bless old age. Not so with the 
mother and her love ; these are as unchangeable and 
immovable as the eternal hills. The world may cor- 
rupt the child ; vicious companions may ruin her 
son ; misfortune may overtake her daughter ; still the 
mother's hand, and heart, and home, are always open 
to receive the sin-stained but repentant prodigal. 

Now, my brethren, if an earthly mother can be 
so loving, so tender, so patient, so forgiving, what 
shall we say of the unselfishness, the patience, and 
the affection of Mary for us, her children ? Is she 
not the help of Christians, the refuge of sinners, the 
hope and the guide of weary wanderers over this 
bleak world ? Yes ; she is all these, and more too. 
Let us, then, my brethren, renounce our past ingrati- 
tude and remember only her love ; let us consecrate 
ourselves anew r to her during this month of flowers. 



288 Father Walsh 

She will not expect that we bring to her altars tokens 
of affection in the form of flowers that fade away 
with the dying day, but rather shall she expect from 
us the roses and the lilies of graces and virtues. 
May we acquire during these days, especially conse- 
crated to her honor and devotion, the precious gifts 
of patience and purity, of charity and humility. 

Finally, let us ask her to intercede for us, that 
we may persevere unto the end in God's holy service. 
Then shall we live our lives in peace and in hope : 
for the passing days, and weeks, and months, and 
years, will slowly but surely brighten and blossom 
into the more perfect day of a blissful eternity. 



ADDRESS TO THE GRADUATES OF ST. 
BERNARD'S ACADEMY. 

Cohoes, N. Y., June, 1912. 

Members of the Graduating Class : 

It were indeed passing strange if this scene and 
the memories of this day did not touch and thrill your 
hearts with mingled feelings of joy and gratitude. 

To our mind, this scene is a magnificent tribute 
to your worth and work as pupils of St. Bernard's 
Academy. Nor will anyone deny that you ought to 
be supremely happy on this occasion. Persevering 
industry has brought, as it aways does, its own sweet 
rewards, and a splendid devotion to duty has earned 
for you the affectionate felicitations of family and 
friends, the gracious approbation of pastors and 
teachers, and the sincere plaudits of an interested 
community. 

We take it for granted, my young friends, that 
you are sighing this afternoon for new worlds to con- 
quer, and that it is your dearest and deepest desire 
to be as successful in the future as you have been in 



Addresses 289 

the past. How are you to reach this goal of your 
own hopes, which are, by the way, our hopes as 
well ? How are you to make real the dreams of your 
youth and the prophecies of your graduation day ? 
To help you answer this question is the one and only 
reason of our presence here to-day. 

Hence, without further preamble, let us say to 
you, that if you wish to hold the esteem of the world 
and hope to make secure the rewards of "the life 
that now is and the life that is to come, ,, it will be 
necessary to take with you from your little class-room 
in St. Bernard's Academy, and carry with you into 
the new and broader fields of activity that now lie 
before you, a virtue that has evidently and fortu- 
nately characterized your student years. 

By this we mean that if you are to succeed in 
life, you must continue to cultivate in yourselves, 
and honor in others, the virtue of self-consecration to 
duty. 

We are well aware that the vast majority of men 
and women will associate the meaning of duty with 
that of " drudgery.' ' Such being the case, why 
wonder if the majority look upon devotion to duty 
as a "hard saying' ' ? Why wonder if they be dis- 
gruntled and disheartened over their prospects in 
life ? Why wonder if they parade the world, bitterly 
complaining and vociferously contending that there 
is, after all, in devotion to duty, nothing either 
helpful or new ? 

This assertion naturally opens wide the door of 
discussion. But we positively decline to enter that 
door, or any door leading to long debate, and for this 
good reason. In accepting the kind invitation of your 
pastor to address the graduating class, we promised 
ourselves strictly to observe all the proprieties of the 
occasion. Firstly, that we would carefully consider 
the time, the place, and the weather ; secondly, that 
we would abstain from all acrimonious argument ; 



290 Father Walsh 

thirdly and lastly, that we would endeavor to be 
brief in what we had to say. 

In the language of a distinguished fellow-citizen, 
that was a great promise and a "bully " provision, 
for we realize already how unfortunate any other 
course would have been. The whole world has de- 
clared unanimously against long sermons, and long 
talks, and long addresses, especially in oppressive 
summer weather. We are not among those that are 
seeking trouble, neither are we of those that delight 
in defying or ignoring public opinion. To defy or 
ignore public opinion is to defy or ignore common 
sense ; and to have ignored or defied common sense 
would have been to mar a well-nigh perfect pro- 
gramme, to punish a kindly audience, and to stamp 
ourselves as utterly devoid of both taste and tact. 

We feel, however, that you will forgive us for 
seizing this opportunity and snatching just time 
enough to remark that the vast majority of men and 
women fail to grasp a great truth when they fail to 
see in self-consecration to duty an uplifting force 
and an unfailing help to success. Of course, we did 
not come to Cohoes claiming that we were going to 
dispense some "new" suggestion, or some "new" 
advice, or some "new " thought, or some "new " pan- 
acea. Some malicious person must have started that 
wicked story, and started it in face of the fact that 
more than three thousand years ago, Solomon, the 
wisest of men, wrote : ' ' There is nothing new under 
the sun." We quite agree with Solomon. Don't 
you ? If you don't, we might just as well tell you 
that you must henceforth be classed with the heathen 
and the publican. We would not be so heartless, my 
dear young graduates, as to class you among the 
publicans. Everybody knows, although everybody 
isn't "savin' it," that there is no such thing as a 
'new" truth, or a r 'new' : taste, or a 'new' 
thought. 



Addresses 291 

What we did claim was this : that all sane and 
safe people recognize in devotion to duty a safe and 
sure stepping-stone to honor and success. Why 
quarrel over a fact ? We allow that this fact may be, 
and usually is — to youth— an undiscovered truth. We 
assure you that it is only a roundabout way of saying 
that "virtue is its own reward.' ' We believe that 
the virtue of self -consecration to duty is bound to 
help us to attain success in life, just as any other vir- 
tue, say, patience, or purity, or honesty, or temper- 
ance, or charity, is bound to help us reach the kingdom 
of heaven. Do you seek further confirmation of this 
teaching ? You will find it in the words of another 
wise man, this memorable quotation : ' ' The test of 
true merit lies in the performance of duty." To 
quarrel over facts is to invite other people to quarrel 
over the question of our sanity. Show me a dutiful 
man or woman, and we will show you a successful 
one. Among the more distressing and disedifying 
faults of youth may be mentioned a lamentable weak- 
ness for laying aside advice, and a deplorable habit 
(almost amounting to genius) of not knowing a good 
part of the time just what it is talking about. These 
faults could not even thrive if we realized that there 
is much knowledge bound up in human faults and 
frailties. Of ttimes we are only intimating that it is 
in the definition of such small words as " Love, Law, 
Justice, Truth, and Duty." 

The best definition of "duty" is "to do the 
right thing at all times and in all places." Reduce 
that definition to every-day practice, and we guaran- 
tee you shall never know aught of "the blinding 
tears and ugly fears " of failure. 

We are persuaded, my dear young friends, that 
in spite of your youth you have thus far mastered 
both the practice and the theory of "duty." So 
far, so good. But will your after-lives show that you 
have persevered to the end in doing the "right 



292 Father Walalfci 

thing, at all times and in all places " ? Or will your 
future present the pitiable picture of a great virtue, 
"more honored in the breach than in the observ- 
ance" ? 

You are about to launch out into the "deeps " of 
broader activities. You may, or may not, know 
that changed conditions and new surroundings beget 
other and weightier responsibilities. There is here 
no question of new duties, but of more comprehen- 
sive ones. The coming years will hold you to a 
stricter account as to your dealings with your fellow- 
men, with yourselves, and with your Father Who is 
in heaven. Remember, the expression, "your fel- 
low-man,' ' is synonymous with "your country.' ' In 
St. Bernard's Academy you have been taught to 
think. Therefore, do not be deceived by the sense- 
less and shameless clap-trap of many modern writers. 
Sift the empty mouthings of the mountebanks who 
will come to you in the garb of philosophers, but who 
at heart are only dangerous demagogues — men and 
women bent on pulling down what wise men and vir- 
tuous women built up at the cost of enormous ser- 
vices and sacrifices. 

My young friends, you shall forfeit, and deserve 
to forfeit, the esteem of the world if you fail to con- 
secrate your best powers — yes, and your blood, if 
need be, to the defence and development of your 
country, the grandest country under the stars of 
heaven. Duty to yourselves in these crucial years 
of your careers is sure to save you from many a folly 
and many a crime. Self-duty is best accomplished, 
as Macintosh would have us understand, by strength- 
ening our social affections and weakening our private 
desires. For, the moment we begin to weaken upon 
ourselves the grip of our own appetites, that moment 
we begin to build up hardy constitutions as well as 
healthy consciences. "Menssanain corpore saiio." 

Finally, your new surroundings will place you 



Addresses 293 

under weightier obligations to your Heavenly Father. 
He will expect you to study more deeply the word of 
truth ; to obey more generously the law ; to give 
more attention and more meaning to prayer ; to love 
your neighbors more intelligently. He commands 
you to help put down agnosticism— the false god of 
the ignorant— and to enshrine and ennoble in your 
lives faith, without which ' * it is impossible to please 
God." 

Our address, all unworthy as it is of this gath- 
ering, would be still more disappointing if we failed 
to refer to the gratitude which should well up in your 
hearts this afternoon. My young friends, you have 
very much to be thankful for. Your education has 
called forth magnificent praise on the part of your 
devoted teachers, magnificent sacrifice on the part 
of Catholic parents, and magnificent zeal on the part 
of respected pastors. Your parents, your teachers, 
and your pastors, enlightened by an infallible Church, 
have been blessed with almost supernatural fore- 
sight. They seem to have peered into the coming 
centuries and to have noted the corroding work of 
wealth and worldliness. Quick to follow her Divine 
leader, they have lifted up their voices and pro- 
claimed to the four quarters of the globe that the only 
power capable of saving the individual or the nation 
from ultimate misery and destruction is Religion. 
Anyone who would not look kindly into the face of 
this self-evidence ought to be branded as a fool. 

See ancient Egypt, with her Babylon ; see 
ancient Palestine, with her Jerusalem ; see ancient 
Greece, with her Athens ; see ancient Ilium, with her 
Rome. They opened their gates to great genius, to 
great learning, to great pleasure, and to great 
wealth ; but closed their hearts to the warning of 
that Creator Who holds in the hollow of His hand 
the destinies of both individuals and nations. What 
happened ? Those peoples, and those cities, and 



294 Father Walsh 

those nations, were blotted from the face of the 
earth. They are now as though they had never 
been. Thus does the Lord teach generations yet un- 
born that He alone rules upon the earth, just as truly 
as He reigns in the heavens. No man, or body of 
men, can sneer at the Almighty with impunity. No 
nation, or body of nations, can resist " instruction,' ' 
and expect to escape His avenging hand. ' Ven- 
geance is mine, saith the Lord. ' ' 

My dear young friends, lend us your ears and 
open to us your hearts, while we warn you, as citi- 
zens of no mean country, to have in your souls at all 
times gratitude enough to accept and respect the 
guidance of that Holy Church which has never ceased 
to be '"the salt of the earth, and the light of the 
world. " By the religious training given her children, 
she is, even now, fighting the battles of the Stars 
and Stripes. Will you stand by later on and play the 
part of cowards or cowardly critics ? Will you refuse 
to do your duty, and to uphold and sustain, in your 
turn, the only educational system that can save us 
and our country ? Boys, when you grow older, be 
Catholic young men, resolved to do the right thing, 
even though the heavens should fall. Girls, when you 
grow older — we'll have to make another start, for 
girls never grow old— be Christians, loving your dear 
School, Mother Church and her institutions as you 
love your earthly mothers. Your earthly mothers 
may, it is true, nourish and nurse and clothe your 
bodies, but bear in mind that only Mother Church 
can robe your souls in the spotless and priceless rai- 
ment of Christian morality. 

Just as the young man should eschew the brutal- 
izing and blighting pleasures of the " saloon," so 
should the Christian young woman shun the society 
of the ungodly and fear to seek unholy alliances out- 
side the fold of her faith. 

Your pastor has just nodded that time is up, so 



Addresses 295 

let us close by recalling what the Blessed Master once 
said : "By their fruits you shall know them. " If we 
mistake not, yours is the largest class in numbers 
ever graduated from your " Alma Mater.' ' Will you 
also be the greatest in achievement ? We must wait 
for the ' ' time of the harvest. ' ' We shall know you 
better then than we know you now. We shall know 
you even as you are known, ' ' and we shall see you 
even as you are seen." 

In saying to you graduates, farewell, we must 
apologize to this most attentive audience for violat- 
ing one of our sacred promises ; namely, to be brief in 
what we had to say to-day. We sincerely repent and 
ask absolution for consuming so much time to say so 
little. The great poet Shakespeare said a great deal 
more in two lines : "To thyself be true, ' 9 and ' ' act 
thy part well." In other words, do thy duty, and let 
each passing day and hour 

' ' Die as the vernal flower, 
A thing of self -reviving power : 
That every word, and every deed, 
May bear within itself the seed 
Of future good and future need." 



ADDRESS TO THE HOLY NAME SOCIETY. 

Mr. President and Members of the Holy Name 
Society : 

I deem it an honor to be identified with this 
meeting. The cause you have espoused is a sacred 
one, the triumph of which means greater glory to 
God and an increased admiration for the Church, 
whose children you are. 

Surely, this is reason enough for your existence 
as an organization ; encouragement enough for sus- 
tained effort in a holy undertaking ; incentive enough 



2% Father Walsh 

for all our Catholic young men to join the ranks of 
the modern Crusaders. Eight centuries ago, thou- 
sands of the children of the Catholic Church banded 
together and fought against fearful odds to save 
from desecration the places once hallowed by the 
presence and the preaching of the Saviour. For 
obvious reasons, the Crusaders of old failed of their 
pious purpose ; nevertheless, all history has praised 
the faith that gave them birth, and lauded the enthu- 
siasm, the self-sacrifice, and the courage of the Cru- 
saders as a most splendid proof of love for Christ 
and of loyalty to God. 

The present age seems ripe for another crusade, 
but one very different from any of the past, as to the 
object to be attained, and as to the methods of war- 
fare to be pursued. The end of your Society is purely 
spiritual ; so also must be the means to that end. To 
teach love, respect, reverence, for the Holy Name of 
God and of His Christ, implies no bearing of arms 
nor hardship of war. You and they who may join 
you in the crusade against profanity will not be 
expected to die in defence of a Christian principle. 
No ; for the Church that blesses you suggests as your 
only and natural weapon : first of all, Godlike exam- 
ple, and, secondly, gentle admonition. Hence, in 
handing you a badge — the distinctive mark of mem- 
bership and mission— religion sets her seal on you, 
and offers you the watchwords, "Thou shalt not 
take the name of the Lord thy God in vain." "Re- 
prove, entreat, rebuke with all patience and doc- 
trine/ ' 

But there is another manner in which your 
crusade will differ from any in the past. Our fore- 
fathers in the faith were obliged to fight against an 
ignorant and superstitious foe. Your work will be 
among your own kind— among men whose spiritual 
interests are supposed to be the same as yours, and 
whose souls must be saved like yours, in and through 



Addresses 297 

the power of the Holy Name of Jesus Christ ; for Holy 
Writ tell us that " there is no other name under 
heaven given to man whereby he may be saved." 
Hence, your charter, like Christian charity, would 
seem to enlist your services, first of all, for home 
duty. 

Seek, if you will, converts to your cause from 
every quarter ; but remember, it is the evident desire 
of Holy Church that you begin your labors at home. 
Before reaching out to members of other creeds, help 
offending Catholics to clean out their dirty mouths. 
It matters not who he is ; the man who prostitutes 
the noble faculty of speech by cursing, or swear- 
ing, or blaspheming, is guilty of a fearful wrong in 
the sight of High Heaven — a criminal monster. If 
he be a Catholic, so much the worse, for his respon- 
sibility is immeasurably greater, and his damnation 
will be infinitely deeper. Why ? Because such a 
man is both a scandal to society and a foul contra- 
diction in religion. Let me explain briefly. Whom 
do we Catholics say is the founder of the Christian 
Religion and the first preacher of the Faith ? Jesus 
Christ. And yet there are hundreds and thousands 
of our co-religionists who practically deny this truth, 
by insulting daily and hourly the majesty of the 
world's benefactor. Again : When we Catholics 
kneel at the Holy Table, whom do we receive ? The 
answer is : " Jesus Christ. ' ' And yet there are hun- 
dreds and thousands of men, who, while pretending 
to admit the dogma of faith, do not hesitate deliber- 
ately to drag His name into the common, vulgar con- 
versations of every barroom and every street corner. 

If this be not a foul contradiction, a vile incon- 
sistency, a well-defined hypocrisy and fraud, then 
what is ? My friends, remember this saying of In- 
aspiration : "From the abundance of the heart, the 
mouth speak eth." Show me a man who uses habit- 
ually and flippantly, the name of God, and I wilJ 



298 Father Walsh 

show you one who harbors in His heart no real 
reverence for Him Who came down from heaven to 
seek, sanctify, and save immortal souls. When such 
a one comes to die, do not seek for an epitaph. It 
is already written : He defied God, and died. 

If you believe in justice and right ; if you believe 
in the truth of the Christian religion, and in the 
efficacy of the sacraments ; if you believe in common 
decency; if you believe in the power of good ex- 
ample ; then give up, once and forever, the disgust- 
ing habit of taking the name of the Lord thy God in 
vain, and promise that, wherever you are, your pres- 
ence will be a solemn protest against profanity. 



ADDRESS TO THE DELEGATES OF STATE 
CONVENTION, T. A. S., SARATOGA, N. Y. 

Rev. Fathers and Delegates to the Diocesan Conven- 
tion : 

There is a peculiar fitness of things in the selec- 
tion of Saratoga as the place for our annual conven- 
tion. 

This is pre-eminently the convention town of our 
State. Here many a hard-fought political contest 
was begun ; here the members of nearly every profes- 
sion and the advocates of nearly every cause have 
assembled to contribute what they have been pleased 
to call their mite, to the enlightenment and advance- 
ment of the world. 

What more appropriate, therefore, than that we 
should gather here and vow again our devotion and 
our allegiance to the principles of Total Abstinence ? 
There is no cause more sacred than ours, for it is the 
cause of God and country. 

Total Abstinence means the saving of society 
from degradation ; it means the strengthening of the 



Addresses 299 

nation ; it means the holding out of a helping hand 
to a multitude of poor unfortunate fellow-creatures, 
who are perishing not only mentally and morally, 
physically and financially, but also eternally, notwith- 
standing the fact that Our Lord Jesus Christ suffered 
and bled and died for their redemption. 

Total Abstinence is the most sacred of causes ; 
for every intelligent, thinking man knows that In- 
temperance is fast becoming a blot upon our common 
humanity, a crime against society, a curse to our be- 
loved country, and one of the worst kind of obstacles 
to the spread of our Holy Faith. Do not imagine, 
brethren, that these are gratuitous assertions. Far 
from it ; for e very-day life affords us ample and pain- 
ful proof of this truth. Show me a deeper disgrace 
to the human family, a blacker blot on the fair face 
of human nature, a more degrading and disgusting 
spectacle, than the rum-soaked man. See him as he 
reels through the streets ; boys hoot, men laugh, 
women sneer at him. Do not call him a man ; he is 
only a counterfeit, and a contemptible one at that. 
True, he was created to the image and likeness of his 
God ; he was once robed in dignity, and destined for 
higher things, but drink has changed all this. He is 
no longer the creature God made him ; he is a moral 
failure, and a reproach to the human family. 

What a subject for thought and tears ! Have 
you ever stopped to think, dearly beloved brethren, 
that Intemperance is thus degrading and enslaving, 
every year, not this or that man alone, but thousands 
and thousands of your fellow-creatures ! Enslaving 
them, did I say ? Yes ; and enslaving them ofttimes 
before the very eyes of a Christian, Catholic people, 
who are too indifferent to utter one word of protest. 
Shame on such Catholics ! An indifferent Christian 
is a contradiction. He is a traitor to his conscience 
and to his God. 

Oh ! how deep will be, in eternity, the damnation 



300 Father Walsh 

of the indifferent Catholic ! If a Christian really 
believed in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, how 
could he refuse to co-operate with the Church of 
Christ for the salvation of souls ? If he had a living 
faith, how could he stifle sympathy and fraternal 
charity in his heart, saying : ' This is no business 
of mine. I am not my brother's keeper." I tell 
you, brethren, that an indifferent Catholic is a mon- 
strosity, a demon of selfishness ; his life is a living lie, 
for he is not, and perhaps he never will be, a Chris- 
tian " in spirit and in truth." Neither is he a good 
citizen ; for a good citizen loves his country, and will 
never sanction nor meekly tolerate the existence of 
any power calculated to enslave the people or to 
weaken the nation. 

A proof of this is the memorable uprising of all 
loyal Americans some years ago, when a cry of dis- 
tress was heard throughout the length and breadth 
of these United States. Men stopped to listen, and 
their hearts were moved to pity ; for that cry proved 
to be the soul-stirring appeal of nearly four millions 
of slaves, who sought to shake from their hands the 
shackles of serfdom, and to become, as they had a 
right to become, free subjects of a free country. 
Proverbial for the spirit of fair play, the American 
people readily recognized the justice and humanity of 
the negroes' cause. Everywhere Christian sentiment 
and sympathy were aroused in their favor, to such 
an extent that indignation soon grew apace with 
pity. Finally, our national pride and liberty-loving 
character asserted themselves in all their might and 
majesty. The effect was magical, and resulted in 
the public conscience proclaiming equal rights for all. 

My brethren, you know the rest. An army was 
sent South, and the infamy which a monstrous traffic 
in human flesh had put upon our fair name, was 
wiped out in a flood of blood. Little did we think, as 
we stood beside the grave of slavery, that there 



Addresses 301. 

would ever again grow up in our midst, in this 
modern, envied Eden of the earth, any power save 
that which comes from God, for the protection, peace 
and prosperity of our people. 

And yet, brethren, it is the unexpected that has 
happened. For I must say to you, and I say it in 
the name of more than six millions of slaves, that 
such a traffic and such a power have sprung up in our 
land, and are even now sowing misery and misfortune 
in every quarter, debasing our very manhood and 
womanhood, weakening the bone and sin^w of the 
nation, pauperizing and brutalizing men and women, 
to whom both nature and nature's God once held out 
the highest hopes and the fairest promises. 

Now, we do not ask you, brethren, to accept 
these assertions as Gospel truths, simply because we 
make them ; for, it might be that we are exaggerat- 
ing just for the sake of effect. Perhaps we, the 
advocates of Total Abstinence, are not honest in our 
pretensions ; or it may be that we are extremists, 
alarmists, would-be reformers. Our first answer to 
such accusations or insinuations is this : Let the 
rum-soaked and the rum-seller accuse and abuse us 
to their heart's content. Our second answer is this : 
If it be not presumptuous to say it, we are reformers, 
and we glory in the title. Was not Christ, the Son 
of the Living God, a reformer in His day ? More- 
over, it strikes me that He was sneered and jeered 
at, accused and abused, by a disreputable, beastly 
crowd, known as Scribes and Pharisees. We are not 
above our Master. We look for opposition ; but 
opposition and ridicule should never, and shall never, 
prevent good Christians and Catholics from becoming 
other Christs, or cause them to grow weary in the 
Godlike work of reclaiming and saving from the 
slavery of drink, the thousands of wretched victims 
who cry out to us for help. 

But to show you, dearly beloved in Christ, that 



302 Fattier Walslb. 

we are not alarmists ; to convince you that our as- 
sertions are far from being exaggerated, let us recall 
a few homely truths known to you all, and a few 
figures that cannot be seriously questioned. These 
facts and figures will speak more eloquently for 
Temperance, and more effectively against Intemper- 
ance, than could the tongue of the most gifted orator. 

We asserted a few moments ago that there ex- 
isted in the world to-day a power pregnant with 
misery and misfortune, and that that power was the 
demon Intemperance. We prove the truth of this 
assertion by the testimony of men whose positions, 
in a measure, forced them to look the evil squarely 
in the face and suggest remedies tending to its sup- 
pression. You all know what the late Rt. Hon. 
William E. Gladstone says on the subject of strong 
drink. He asserts that Intemperance has destroyed 
more men than war, pestilence and famine com- 
bined. It is not easy to number the victims laid low 
by war, pestilence and famine ; therefore, it is hard, 
if not impossible, to compute the number of unfor- 
tunates killed by rum. 

The late Cardinal McCabe, Archbishop of Dublin, 
speaking to the people of his jurisdiction, and, in 
fact, to the whole of Ireland, once said that Intem- 
perance is the source of nearly all of Ireland's misery, 
and that thousands of premature graves tell of its 
ravages. 

The opinion of the late Archbishop of Canter- 
bury is that Intemperance eats out the very heart of 
society, destroys domestic life among our working 
classes, and does more harm than any other evil 
that can be named in this age. He adds that it is 
the prolific source of misery, poverty and crime. 
A former Governor of Massachusetts made the fol- 
lowing statement in his annual message to the leg- 
islature : ' ' Intemperance has filled the State with 
its destructive influence, and its progress every- 



Addresses 303 

where heralds only misfortune, misery and degra- 
dation." 

My brethren, those authorities knew whereof 
they spoke. They were not alarmists, for the truth of 
their words may be verified by personal observation, 
by the sights and shadows that may be seen at any 
hour of the day or night, in the wretched homes of 
drinking men and women. To find such homes, we 
need never go far ; for ruin and wreckage are scat- 
tered all around us. Follow me to the poorest and 
dirtiest and darkest part of any city or town ; that is 
generally the quarter set apart for the improvident 
and the drunkards. The houses are in keeping with 
their surroundings. Let us open the door and enter 
one of those so-called homes. Great God ! What a 
pitiable picture meets our gaze ! Want and wretch- 
edness stare us in the face ! Indignation alone keeps 
back the tears that would well up in our eyes. Yes, 
we are indignant at the miserable man, the willing 
victim of drink, who can honor with the sacred name 
of home a few small, ill-ventilated and scantily fur- 
nished rooms. On the other hand, we have nothing 
but the tenderest pity for the unhappy wives and 
children who are doomed to live and die amid such 
environments. God knows they deserve, do many of 
them, a kindlier lot— a better fate. No doubt they 
hope for brighter days and sigh for happier homes. 
Poor creatures ! Their hopes and sighs are as a rule 
but empty dreams. To them existence will ever be 
a hopeless struggle, a living death, until the hus- 
bands and fathers, conquered by Divine Grace, shall 
determine at last to be men, not brutes. 

There are hundreds of cheerless homes in this 
town to-night ; hundreds of hungry children ; hun- 
dreds of heart-broken wives and mothers, daughters 
and sisters, — and all because unprincipled husbands 
and fathers, sons and brothers, will not free them- 
selves from the grasp of Intemperance. 



304 Father Walsh 

My brethren, these are painful sayings, and they 
are all the more painful because they are true, and 
well calculated to convince the most skeptical that 
the human race is fast forgetting its ancient tradi- 
tions, and dragging in the mire the record of its past 
glories. To give you a faint idea of the extent to 
which drunkenness is carried on in our day and in 
our land, we have only to read the police court records 
of any of our cities. It is safe to say that half the 
arrests made in this or any other town are made 
because of liquor. 

In 1881, the total number of arrests made in the 
city of San Francisco was 25,669 ; out of this num- 
ber, 19,500 were for intoxication. In Boston, the 
total number of arrests for one year was 16,297 ; 
12,227 were for drunkenness. In 1883 there were 
71,669 persons arrested in New York City ; 48,191 
were for over-indulgence. 

Now, brethren, what becomes of the charges of 
exaggeration ? Will anyone say that the advocates 
of Temperance are alarmists ? Without the least 
shadow of doubt, Intemperance is a curse, and it is 
a power too deadly in its effects not to be keenly felt 
and feared. I use " advisedly " the word feared, for, 
unfortunately, it is an evil that is spreading every 
year with great strides. In 1881 there were 200,000 
licensed saloons in the United States. If placed side 
by side, it is computed that they would reach from 
New York to Chicago, a distance of more than a 
thousand miles. In Boston there is a saloon to every 
150 persons ; in Chicago, one for every 140 persons ; 
in New York, before the Raines' law went into 
effect, one for every 135 persons. If the growth 
continues, who knows but that in time every man 
will have a saloon of his own. 

What are the conclusions to be drawn from these 
figures and facts ? Many conclusions might be 
drawn from what we have just said, but I shall con- 



Addresses 305 

fine myself to the pointing out of just one obvious 
truth ; namely, that the quantity of liquor consumed 
over the bar must be simply enormous. Statistics col- 
lected by the Government puts it at over 500,000,000 
gallons a year, a quantity sufficient, it seems to us, to 
float a boat around the world. I feel, brethren, that 
I must be tiring you with so much arithmetic. A 
jester might call this a dry meeting ; but let me give 
you one more fact — a real eye-opener. 

The drinking man never gets anything but what 
he pays for dearly. Now, the drink bill incurred by 
the patrons of the saloons of this country amounts to 
the modest ( ?) sum of $1,000,000,000 annually. Think 
over the bill, dearly beloved brethren, and tell me, 
to-morrow, if I was right or wrong when I stated a 
few moments ago that the rum power is fast pauper- 
izing the masses of the people. We pay every year 
in this country, $92,000,000 to the liquor dealers- 
more than we do to our bakers and butchers and 
clothiers combined. We give, in this country, ten 
dollars to the saloon for every dollar to the school, 
and still we wonder at the vast ignorance of the peo- 
ple. For every dollar paid in salary to the clergy- 
men of the United States, fifty-five dollars is paid 
to the saloon-keeper ; a fact that goes to show that 
the spirituous is far dearer to the hearts of our people 
than the spiritual. Last October, a man of undoubted 
authority wrote in a New York journal: "New 
Yorkers spend annually $30,000,000 for beer and $90,- 
000,000 for wines and spirits— about $86.75 for each 
person per year. 

Again I ask you, brethren, is it true or false that 
the liquor traffic and drunkenness are making the 
people poor and miserable ? I hold it is true ; while 
I will add, without the least fear of being contra- 
dicted, that there is no reason in God's world why 
the humblest workman in this glorious land of ours, 
providing he be sober, industrious and economical, 



306 Father Walsh 

could not have his own bank account, own his own 
home, dress himself and his family in the best of 
taste, and educate his sons and daughters for honor- 
able and useful careers. 

I know this, brethren, and I know it because I 
have seen men who have accomplished the feat. 
Would to heaven there were more of them ! Their ex- 
ample is worthy of both admiration and imitation. 
I wonder if every man in this town to-night can say : 
1 * I wish my sons or my brothers would follow my ex- 
ample. I wish they could do as I am doing, or as I 
have done. Would to God they had followed in my 
footsteps ! " I cannot think that every Trojan can 
say this consciously, for that would mean, in too 
many instances, the leading of an unchristian, dis- 
graceful, dissipated, drunken life. 

Children have too often followed in the footsteps 
of drunken parents, and we know the result. The 
bad example of intoxication has placed hundreds of 
thousands behind prison bars, and has led thousands 
of our young men even to the scaffold. I can recall 
now one very sad instance that came under my own 
eyes. It was that of a young man, only nineteen 
years of age, who was arrested and tried for wife 
murder, and convicted of the charge. I remember 
that poor unfortunate young fellow well. His name 
was Jones — James Horace Jones— and he was hanged 
in the Troy jail some years ago. Among other things 
that condemned man said to those that were per- 
mitted to speak to him, was this : ' ' I was always 
reckless and worthless, because my parents were 
careless and intemperate. ' ' 

My brethren, I have never forgotten those words, 
uttered within the shadow of the gallows, and I have 
ofttimes thought it preferable to dangle at the end 
of the hangman's rope than to assume, before God, 
the responsibility of that young man's parents. His 
execution reminded me of the eminent writer, 



Addresses 307 

South : ' ' Such children are, because of drink, not so 
much born into this world as damned into it." 

If, therefore, the slavery of drink is so wide- 
spread, and fraught with so many and so great evils, 
will we stand idly by and refuse to better, if we can, 
the conditions of our fellows ? Can nothing be done 
to check Intemperance ? Is there nothing to crush 
out a power that debases so many men, wrecks so 
many homes, breaks so many hearts, peoples so many 
asylums, fills so many jails, starves so many chil- 
dren, digs so many graves, and damns so many souls ? 
Religion answers : Yes ; there is a remedy for such 
an evil. There is relief for the wretched, freedom 
for the slave— men and means inspired by God, and 
blessed by the Church of Jesus Christ. Next to 
prayer and the sacraments, there is no more effica- 
cious means for holding up the work and strengthen- 
ing the strong than the binding together of men and 
women— rich and poor, young and old, married and 
single — pledged to observe religiously the principles 
of Total Abstinence. 

Every man who takes the pledge and keeps it, is, 
by that very act, lifting himself up socially, finan- 
cially, and spiritually. Total Abstinence will make a 
man respectable and respected ; it will put money in 
the house, money in the pocket, money in the bank. 
It will give us more cozy houses, more comfortably 
dressed wives, and mothers, and children ; it will 
put provisions in the pantry, coal and wood in the 
cellar, meat on the table, and butter on the bread ; 
it will bring down upon us a blessing for time and 
eternity. Fidelity to a temperance pledge will make 
us happy, in the hope that we are doing something, 
by our example, to feed the hungry, to clothe the 
naked, to console the heart-broken, and to make the 
world brighter and better. 

Members of the Temperance Societies of the Dio- 
cese of Albany, may our Father, Who is in heaven. 



308 Father Walsh 

abundantly bless you for the noble work you are 
doing in the name of the Church, and for the still 
nobler example you are giving to your fellow-men. 
Be faithful to the sacred cause you represent. Work 
for it with a will. Have persistency and persever- 
ance in your holy purpose. Keep before your eyes 
the name and memory of the great Apostle of Tem- 
perance, the immortal Father Matthew. Strive to 
catch some of his enthusiasm, and to imbibe a little 
of his unselfish spirit. His name and fame are en- 
shrined in men's hearts because he labored for hu- 
manity and saved souls for God. His body now sleeps 
in an honored grave, but his work still goes on, for 
his mantle has fallen on the shoulders of abstainers 
the world over. My prayer for you to-night, breth- 
ren, is that you may wear that mantle honestly. 
You will thereby teach others to fight the good fight, 
and help them to save their immortal souls. 



Eulogies 309 



EULOGIES. 

' He was a man, mighty in word and in 
work." — St. Luke xxiv, 19. 

Rt. Reverend Bishop, Very Reverend and Reverend 
Clergy, Dearly Beloved Brethren of the Laity : 

The part assigned me in these obsequies is most 
painful. Deep affection chokes back much that could 
and should be said in praise of a dear dead friend. 
Death has touched one so near to me that I can 
hardly think, scarcely speak. Should I fail in my 
task, you may read in one another's faces a better 
eulogy than has ever been written or spoken. 

The sigh of sincere sorrow sounds far more sig- 
nificant than any words, while the tears that well up 
in the eyes of both priest and people have a meaning 
far deeper than any language. They tell the story 
of our loss, and prove beyond a doubt that Father 
Cunningham was, like his Divine Master and Model, 
a man mighty in word and in work. 

We have more than the mere assertion for proof 
of this fact. His priesthood lifted him above most 
men, invested him with a dignity more than angelic, 
and made him, according to the saying of a saintly 
writer, another Christ — alter Christus. 

Oh, brethren, here was the secret of his claims 
to your affections and to mine ; here was the source 
of his power. If he was mighty in word and in 
work, it was because he endeavored through the 
years of his priesthood to walk in the footsteps of 
the Master ; it was because he tried honestly to be 
a good and faithful disciple. What Christ did and 



310 Father Walsh 

taught in His life and ministry, that our deceased 
brother labored humbly, but earnestly, to do and to 
teach. 

Some spiritual writer has said that the chief 
characteristics of Christ's early career were its sim- 
plicity and its sincerity. 

Like the Saviour, Father Cunningham was from 
childhood to manhood sublimely simple and intensely 
sincere. 

From the day he left his happy home to prepare 
himself "to go unto the altar of God" ; from the 
time he invoked the priestly blessing of his vocation 
and his studies about to begin, he seemed to realize 
all the responsibility of the high and holy office he 
was later on to assume. 

To reflect honor on that office and to fit himself 
for the successful and conscientious discharge of its 
duties, he applied himself to learning with laudable 
ambition. 

We who were the companions and the classmates 
of his seminary life, easily recall to mind to-day how 
profitably he employed his study hours, and how well 
he used the talents entrusted to him. 

Even in those days, now treasured in lasting 
and loving remembrance, fond friends could see the 
future usefulness of his career. Interested profes- 
sors and observant superiors could indulge in proph- 
ecy, and predict for him a ministry rich in blessings 
and fruitful in good works. 

They were not mistaken. Their calculations 
were correct. The student was father to the priest. 

From the halls of St. Joseph's Seminary, Troy, 
Father Cunningham brought out into the world, on 
Rosary Sunday, 1887, a soul schooled in piety, a heart 
disciplined in virtue, and a mind well stored with 
knowledge. From sacred sources he had drunk in 
wisdom and learning. It was necessary, brethren, 
that he and we should do so ; for we were to be of 



Eulogies 311 

that privileged band to whom Jesus Christ once said : 
*'Go and teach all nations/' He was to be a priest 
of the Most High, and Holy Writ tells us that from 
the lips of the priest the people will seek knowledge. 

Having attained the goal of his heavenly am- 
bition, the newly ordained began at once, and in 
all earnestness, his labors of love in the midst of the 
good people of St. Ann's. Here he spent the last 
eleven years of his life, and all the years of his 
priesthood. 

Is there, in the diocese of Albany, any ecclesiastic 
who has not heard of his burning zeal for souls ? Is 
there, in this parish, a single Catholic who has not 
felt the magnetism of his power and the influence of 
his personality ? 

When the history of this congregation is written, 
one of its most charming and cherished chapters will 
be the record of Father Cunningham's charity and 
Christlike sympathy. 

Knowing from Revelation the infinite value of a 
soul created in the image and likeness of God, he has, 
time and time again, generously sacrificed comfort 
and ease to lift up the fallen and save the wayward. 

They did not always come to him ; he, like the 
good shepherd who feels in duty bound, went to them. 
He pleaded with them ; he reasoned with them ; he 
entreated them in God's name and in God's love. His 
efforts were, as a rule, rewarded ; and so he was 
always happy. He had shown to his own satisfaction, 
and he had proved to the doubting, that just as the 
rays of the sun can draw up again from the polluted 
pool the pearly raindrop that has fallen from the 
clouds, so also can a ray of heaven's sunshine or of 
human love lift up again to heights of holiness a sin- 
stained soul — once a pearl beyond price. 

Father Cunningham loved his kind. His charity 
was as high as heaven ; his sympathy as broad as 
earth. 



312 Father Walsh 

It is no exaggeration to say that he fed, clothed, 
and housed more poor people than any other clergy- 
man in this city. 

He had a pure and deep affection for the little 
ones of the household of faith — for the lambs of the 
flock, and that affection found a fitting expression in 
his visitations to the little school at Kenwood. There 
he was a child among children. His genial smile and 
kindly words were an encouragement and a blessing 
to both teachers and pupils. The school children will 
sadly miss him. And so will other children. 

In his daily and nightly rounds of this parish, the 
tireless assistant has more than once come across 
little waifs, little outcasts, the victims of unlawful 
love. Like a second St. Vincent de Paul, he gath- 
ered them up and found for them in our asylums 
the comfort of a home and the care of spiritual 
mothers. 

Have I failed to show you, brethren, wherein the 
dead priest resembled his Master and Model ? If so, 
reflect, and in memory see him standing round the 
death-beds of your sick and suffering ones. How 
kind he was ! What a messenger of peace ! How 
mighty he was in word and work ! The most hard- 
ened sinners responded gratefully to his invitation to 
repentance, and dying, blessed him for the light 
shed over their path to the tomb. 

It is, indeed, a marvelous power, that given by 
Jesus Christ to His priesthood, whereby death is 
virtually robbed of its sting and the grave of its 
victory. 

My brethren, this is not the time, nor have I the 
heart to-day to make an extended reference to the 
long, weary hours this spiritual father spent in yonder 
confessional. Suffice it to say that the laity can 
never know what it means to "hear confessions." 
It is wearying— it is trying. At times, I have reason 
to believe, it has been an irksome task for him, were 



Eulogies 313 

it not for the fact that the good he accomplished in 
and through the Sacrament of Penance would be 
recorded and remembered in heaven. 

One thing more. During the last eleven years, 
you, the people of this parish, have seen our brother- 
priest standing at this altar hundreds and thousands 
of times. You were glad to hear him sing the praise 
of God, and to see him offer to the Lord the sweet in- 
cense of prayer. You were glad, because you knew 
that he came unto this holy mount with a pure heart 
and with clean hands. 

This church shall see him now no more ; for to-day 
he is vested for the last time, and for the last time 
he holds in his hands the chalice— the gift of your 
generosity and the symbol of his consecration. 

Members of St. Ann's congregation, you will not 
fail, will you, to pray for him who has prayed so 
often and so fervently for you ? 

It may be said that, judging from the picture I 
have tried to draw of him, he needs no prayers. God 
forbid that such a thought should enter your minds. 
Remember, brethren, that the Lord alone is holy, 
"Tux solus sanctus." He does need your prayers. 
He needs them to help pay the last farthing and to 
atone for the failing of poor, weak human nature. 

If I have pictured him as perfect, the fault is 
chargeable to my admiration of him as a man, and to 
my affection for him as a priest. I simply held him 
up to you as I knew him. 

But why prolong this agony ? We must give 
back this precious clay to Mother Earth, ' ' whence 
it came." And so, in full submission to the decree 
of heaven, we bow and say : "Thy will be done." 

Before proceeding, however, to the last sad 
scene, I would ask you, his brethren and his friends, 
to pray on bended knees for those whose hearts are 
breaking this morning. 

To the reverend uncle, and to the reverend 



314 Father Walsh 

cousin of Father Cunningham, we offer our sincere 
sympathy. 

To his brothers, we say : ' ' Look up to God, from 
whom consolation cometh." 

To his loving sisters, and especially the two who 
watched over him in his fatal illness with gentle, 
angelic solicitude, to them we say : " May God and 
Our Lady of Sorrows come and comfort you." 

Finally, to the aged mother, now bending under 
the burden of three score and ten years, and under 
the weight of this heavy cross, to her we say, with 
affectionate regard : ' ' Weep not like them who have 
no hope." You have given to the world a true man, 
and to the diocese of Albany a noble, pious priest, 
11 one who was mighty in word and in work." 



There are occasions, dearly beloved brethren, 
and this seems like one of them, when the human 
heart is quite overcome by feelings of unspeakable 
sadness. At such times as this, we naturally look 
around about us for the comfort and the strength we 
crave ; but, generally speaking, we fail to find them. 
We listen to catch the word of consolation, but again 
we are sorrowfully disappointed, unless we have the 
wisdom and the inspiration to do what holy David 
did in the hour of his affliction ; that is, to lift up our 
minds and hearts to Him from Whom alone can come 
the truest consolations of life, the tenderest proofs of 
Divine sympathy. When God speaks to drooping 
hearts, there is in His Word a secret and a sacred 
balm that soothes sorrow, that consecrates suffering, 
that lightens the cares that bear us to the ground. 
Around them who sorrow and suffer in and with 
Christ, there will ever be the everlasting arms of God. 
Such people cannot— they will not— weaken like them 
who have no hope. And to them who trust in the 



Eulogies 315 

care and the providence of a loving Father, there can 
never come but one thought and one prayer — the 
thought of the heavenly home and the prayer of per- 
fect resignation : ' ' Father, not my will, but Thine 
be done. ' ' 

On this occasion, dearly beloved brethren, I do 
not know of any words of consolation. We must look 
to God, and, as it is said, He is sure to sustain us. 
In all the trials of life we must go to Him, and if we 
forget Him, then indeed shall our hearts be sorrowful 
and sad. With His great strength He holds us up, 
and the moment we look to Him He will wipe away 
our tears and strengthen us as He strengthened holy 
David. 

To-day, dearly beloved brethren, there is great 
reason for sorrow. This scene here suggests to our 
minds one of those natural mysteries of which this 
life is so full, and with which we have all grown so 
familiar. As I gazed for the last time on the fair 
form of this Christian maiden, I could not but stop 
and ask myself why the young, the strong, the good, 
the useful, are called so often from earth, from home, 
and from friends. The world has no explanation, no 
reason to offer. Not so with religion. Religion faces 
the problem and solves the mystery, assuring us in all 
faith, that whatsoever is, is best ; telling us that we 
poor mortals are prone, in our short-sightedness, to 
misinterpret the purposes of God, and reminding us 
how apt we are to forget that God hath but given His 
beloved one sleep. For her there are no more pains ; 
for her there are no more aches. The poor head that 
endured the tortures of a crowning with thorns is at 
last free from suffering. She sleeps the sleep of the 
just. If we find it bard, dearly beloved brethren, to 
reconcile our losses with the teachings of faith, I only 
ask you to bear patiently awhile and abide God's 
time. The day is coming when we shall see, even as 
we are seen, and we shall know all things, even as 



316 Father Walsh 

we are known ; and then we shall see and know that 
this beloved child of God enjoys the rest and the 
peace of heaven, and that she has, by suffering, en- 
tered into the heavenly home, even as Christ entered 
by suffering into His glory. 

But, notwithstanding these consoling assurances 
of religion, we may and we must have our personal, 
our natural griefs. Surely no one will blame us for 
shedding to-day the tears of farewell from one whose 
character and whose life endeared her to us all. Of 
course, no one will miss her genial smile, her happy 
laughter, her kindly face, more than will her own 
devoted sisters ; no one knew better than they her 
lovable nature and her kindly disposition. Her pres- 
ence was the sunshine of their lives, it was the 
happiness of their home. And there is one who is at 
a distance to-day, dearly beloved brethren, whose 
heart is, no doubt, breaking and bleeding. It is a 
younger sister, one who was attached to her, one 
who loved her as we can only love a sister. She 
would fain be here this morning, but she has made 
sacrifices to God, and she will make this sacrifice. 
And to-day she kneels alone and in sadness, to offer 
this great sacrifice to heaven. 

This parish has lost a willing worker. Never 
have the clergy at this Cathedral found her wanting 
in sympathy and in loyalty when it was a question of 
doing anything for the material interests of the 
Church. Others might hold back and criticise ; but 
she always came forward and encouraged our efforts. 
She was indeed our friend. Nor did her interest in 
religion stop here. She was interested in all the 
societies connected with the parish. She was a de- 
voted member of our Young Ladies' Sodality, and she 
cultivated always the most tender devotion to the 
Blessed Mother of God. She was a member of our 
excellent choir, whose members have come here this 
morning to sing her requiem. She was a member of 



Eulogies 317 

our Rosary Society, a teacher in our Sunday-School, 
where scores of little children sat at her feet every 
Sunday to hear her speak of God and to hear of His 
love and of His tenderness. She was also a zealous, 
conscientious promoter of our League of the Sacred 
Heart. Why should we not, dearly beloved brethren, 
have a personal share in this bereavement ? 

It may be hard to believe that this is for the 
best, but we submit to God's providence and the 
teachings of faith. To-day we look up to heaven, and 
we ask God to remember her works. We will try, 
dearly beloved brethren, try hard, to bear with the 
thought of separation from her. We owe her a 
sacred duty, and that is to hold her memory in affec- 
tionate remembrance and to pray for her. We feel 
that God in His mercy will reward her for the deeds 
done in the flesh, and we shall wipe away our tears 
as we stand by her open grave this morning, feeling 
convinced that she now rests from her labors, and 
that her precious clay is now awaiting only the sound 
of the angel's trumpet to summon it to a blessed and 
glorious immortality. 



" Well done, thou good and faithful servant." 

Our surroundings this morning tell us, dear breth- 
ren, an old and familiar story— a story ever ancient, 
ever new, namely : that another grave has been 
opened, that another life has ended, that another link 
in the chain of family affections has been broken, 
that another good and faithful servant in the vine- 
yard of the Lord has been called home to rest. 

Sacred as is this story, and solemn as is the les- 
son to be drawn from a scene such as this, we regret 
to say that its endless repetition is apt to jar on the 
sensibilities of a restless world, and cause a countless 



Father Walsh 

multitude of thoughtless men and women to close 
their ears to a heavenly warning and to shut their 
eyes to a heavenly reality. 

Thank God, all of us are not thoughtless, that 
is, indifferent to the spiritualities of this life. Not 
all of us are deaf to God's warnings or blind to His 
purposes. We would fain believe, brethren, that at 
least you few who are gathered here this morning 
have come into this presence with minds and hearts 
open to instruction. I believe that you, at least, can 
read down in the very stillness of death, a premoni- 
tion of the future and another illustration of the old 
inspired saying, ' To-day for me ; to-morrow for 
thee." 

As Mother Earth to-day clasps our friend to her 
bosom, soon, perhaps to-morrow, will she reach out 
again and take from us our fathers and our mothers, 
our brothers and our sisters, our children and our 
friends. This thought is, I allow, repellent ; but 
the fact — the truth— remains, that ere long God's 
summons will come to you and to me, that His voice 
will soon be heard calling upon us to bow in meek 
submission to a decree as old as time itself, "Thou 
art dust, and into dust thou shalt return." 

Act as we may, think as we will, we must all bear 
individual witness to the awful fact that this earth of 
ours is, after all, little else than a spot upon which to 
dig graves. When you and I were born, brethren, 
we were born to die. When the lapsing years have 
whitened our hair, and we have left behind us the 
dreams of childhood and youth, we are easily con- 
vinced of the fact that the cradle is never very far 
removed from the grave, and that our mother's iulla- 
bys lulling us to sleep are quickly changed into the 
Church's— our spiritual mother's— mourning requiem. 

Does this truth affright us ? It should not ; and 
it would not, were we all that we ought to be— good 
and faithful servants of Him Who doth all things 



Eulogies 319 

well. True, the thought of death is oppressive to an 
unbeliever. Ought it sadden you and me, who pre- 
tend to have humbly accepted Jesus Christ and His 
teachings ? No ; for the servant of the Lord is sure 
to see, in his last surrender to nature, not a defeat, 
bat a victory ; not darkness, but light ; not despair, 
but an incentive to a holier hope and to a firmer faith. 

If there be life after death (and there is), why 
should the Christian grieve at the sight of death, like 
them who have no hope ? If there be, beyond the 
smiling and the weeping of this world (and there is) , 
rewards for obedience, for humility, for purity of 
life, and the patient bearing of the ills of this world, 
why should the soldier of Christ regret falling upon 
the field of honor ? If there be (and there is) , a 
place and a time of happy and everlasting reunion 
with the loved ones who are gone on before us, why 
should we think regretfully of the partings here, and 
lose sight of the meeting and greeting there, when 
the song of welcome fills forever the mind with 
visions of eternal rest, and the soul with an ecstasy 
of delight ? 

The saints of God, who fought and bled and died 
in service and sacrifice to the Master, obtained the 
true meaning of death. To them it meant a happier 
existence, the fulfillment of a hope long deferred ; 
the putting off of this mortality and the putting on 
of immortality ; the putting off of earthly corruption, 
to put on heavenly incorruption. No wonder St. 
Paul longed to be dissolved and be with Christ. I do 
not mean to say, brethren, that your friend and mine 
was a saint ; that she was comparable to a St. Peter 
or a St. Paul in courage and character ; but I do 
claim that she differed from them only in degree, 
not in kind ; for she, like the great Apostle of the 
Gentiles, could say : "I have fought the good fight ; 
I have run the race ; I have kept the faith." 



320 Father Walsh 

There is nothing in this wide world, dearly 
beloved brethren, that comforts and consoles the 
sorrow-laden more quickly and more effectually than 
the Word of God or the teaching of religion. Let our 
loss and our cross be ever so heavy ; let our grief be 
ever so deep ; let the day be ever so dark ; let the 
clouds that hang about us be ever so black, — we shall 
never falter in the hour of trial, we shall never fail 
in strength and courage, if we look up to the God of all 
consolation, to the Fountain-head of hope, to Him 
Who has sacredly promised to hear and to help us in 
the day of affliction. What a consoling truth, what a 
blessed message, to them who mourn this morning 
the sweet young life that has gone out from among 
them, leaving behind it naught but memories of 
purity, piety and innocence ! How the tender prom- 
ises of our Blessed Lord must fill up and veil over the 
void that has been made in the hearts of her brothers 
and in the heart of her cherished little sister ! 

Were it not for the loving assurance of Our 
Father, Who is in heaven, their sorrow might seem 
indeed unbearable, and the darkness of the grave 
might seem more than impenetrable. But, strength- 
ened as they are by the teaching of religion, there is 
hope behind their sorrow, there is light behind the 
clouds. For we find infinite relief in the thought that 
the Lord doth everything wisely and well ; that He 
hath care over us ; that He watches over His own, in 
life and in death, and that everything that happens, 
happens for a divine purpose. 

We trust, dearly beloved brethren, that you may 
realize and feel the force of these truths better and 
better every day. May you reflect on them this 
morning, and as you journey on your way to the 
consecrated city of the dead, may you see with the 
eyes of Faith the same compassionate Saviour Who 
once went about doing good, healing the sick, raising 
the dead again to life. May you hear with the ears 



Eulogies 321 

of Faith, from His sacred lips, these words so full of 
heavenly hope : " Weep not, like them who have no 
hope ;" for "the maid is not dead, but sleepeth." 

Oh, brethren, let us not disturb the slumbers of 
our dear dead ! What could be more welcome to the 
weary, worn-out body, than sound sleep ? What 
could be more refreshing, more soothing, to the poor 
patient sufferer, than to rest in the arms of Jesus ? 
That she is destined to enjoy such a sleep, and such a 
rest, is the only conclusion we can derive from her 
short but lovely life, and from her holy death. 

As we think of her, dead, in the spring-time of 
life, and in all the beauty of her innocence, we can- 
not but regret, dear brethren, that our days and 
years were not cut short. For, reckon as many of 
us will, we cannot escape the conviction that our sins 
have multiplied with our years. Many of us loved 
God more in our boyhood and in our girlhood than 
we do now. In years gone by, many of us had a 
deeper reverence for the laws and the teachings of 
Holy Mother Church than we have now in our man- 
hood and our womanhood. The simple prayers of 
childhood are now well-nigh forgotten, and the con- 
fessions and communions of our youth are now, and 
in many instances, nothing but a memory, fraught 
with far more shadow than sunshine. We do not 
wonder, brethren, that so many tremble at the hour 
of death and at the sight of the open grave. Why 
should we not fear the face of the Just Judge ? 



As no one could number the drops of falling rain 
during last evening's shower, so, dearly beloved 
brethren, no one can count the afflictions that have 
fallen upon the human heart, or number the tears 
that have welled up in human eyes. Proofs are not 
wanting to show that this assertion is no exaggera- 



322 Father Walsh 

tion. Measure, If you can, the sorrows of one 
day, the trials that come to the people of one city. 
Think of the sufferings of the countless millions that 
have peopled this earth, and you will find that the 
griefs and the tears of this world almost outnumber 
the sands on the seashore, or the rain-drops that have 
ever fallen on this earth. 

I recall these facts at this time, dearly beloved 
brethren, to show you that God does not punish 
some and spare others ; that each one, in his or her 
turn, must bow in submission to the will of Divine 
Providence, and pay tribute to the law of suffering 
and sorrow. To parents, there is no sorrow like that 
caused by the death of a good and promising child. 
If this be true in a general sense, who could blame 
the father or the mother of this lovable child for giv- 
ing vent to feelings which no language can fitly ex- 
press and no tongue can possibly soothe. The home 
which her presence once lighted up and made happy 
will be lonely without her. Her voice, which was as 
music to her loved ones, will be missed as much as 
sunshine from the rooms where she sat and worked 
and died. There will soon be nothing left of her this 
side of the grave, but a sweet, loving memory, and a 
picture that looks down from the wall, reminding 
those who gaze upon it of one of the sweetest natures 
and one of the purest souls which it has been our 
privilege to meet in all our ministry. From child- 
hood to maidenhood she was ever the same, gentle 
and pious ; a little Christian in the home and on the 
street ; a devoted child and imitator of our Blessed 
Mother. Oh ! had it not been for the natural ties of 
affection that bound her to home and to family, how 
joyfully she would have longed for and accepted the 
final summons. As It was, she could hardly conceal 
the satisfaction she felt in the face of death She 
seemed to see visions of her far-off home, and to 
hear ten thousand voices speaking of the beauty and 



Eulogies m 

the beatitude of the security and the rest of heaven. 
Good as she was, do not wish her back ; she was not 
too good for Him who made her and us, for another 
and a better world. 

May God grant us grace and strength to love and 
serve Him here, that we may one day enjoy His pres- 
ence for all eternity, with the angels and the saints, 
with the just made perfect, with our dear, cherished 
dead, who now sleep the long, last sleep of a holy 
and happy death. 



Among the beautiful and memorable sayings of 
Solomon, the Wise, there is, my brethren, one that 
may have possibly been suggested by just such a 
scene as this. 

Measuring, as only an inspired writer could 
measure, the shortness of time and the awful uncer- 
tainty of death ; reflecting deeply on the nature and 
number of temptations and trials with which the 
world is sure to beset young people, Solomon cries 
out in warning accents : ' * Remember thy Creator in 
the days of thy youth, before the silver chord of life 
be broken, and the body returns to Mother Earth, 
whence it was, and the spirit returns to God, Who 
gave it." Holy Church gladly accepts and readily 
endorses those words, repeating them time and time 
again to those of youthful years. 

The age in which we live, and the tendency of 
the time, my brethren, make it a sacred duty of the 
Church and of religion, that she keep this warning 
ever present to the minds of the young. Youth 
is the short season of high hopes and boundless 
ambition. It is the period of day-dreams. Young 
men and young women anticipate great triumphs. 
They are restless and eager for the battle of life. 
Neither their restlessness nor their eagerness would 
give us overmuch concern, were it not for the fact 



324 Father Walsh 

that many, yes, very many of them, are in imminent 
danger of growing unmindful of their true and eter- 
nal interests. Oftentimes it does not take long for 
youth to forget that a due proportion must needs be 
kept between the services of the Creator and that of 
the world. In other words, young men and young 
women fail to recognize in a practical way the prin- 
ciple that life's work and life's battles should be 
God's work and God's battles. 

To allow, as oftentimes is done, the claims of the 
world, to encroach upon the rights of God, to throw 
all youthful energy on the side of the material, to 
center all budding affections on the passing, fleeting 
shadow, is both wicked and unworthy of a child of 
God. It is more— it is fatal, and eventually leads to 
spiritual shipwreck. One day this will be made evi- 
dent to those who are now relegating God to a second, 
inferior place in the world which He Himself called 
into existence. 



Of late our parish has been saddened, dearly be- 
loved brethren, by a large number of deaths. Three 
times within the week our office has compelled us to 
give expression to the plaintive words with which 
Holy Church consigns her faithful children to the 
grave, and to ask for the departed the charity of their 
loved one's prayers. 

Naturally, a bereaved family finds it a melan- 
choly pleasure to remember their dead ; but there 
are good reasons for believing that there will be a 
general and generous response to an appeal made in 
behalf of one whose fidelity to friends and neighbors, 
as well as to family, has often been tried and never 
found wanting. In her Christian charity, she never 
thought that death ended the chains of friendship, 
neither did she look upon the presence of a friend at 
the open grave as the last service to be rendered to 



Eulogies 325 

the dead ; her prayers, her penances, her commu- 
nions, followed her own and others of the household 
of Christ beyond this material world, even into that 
place of suffering where souls pay the last farthing 
to the justice of God. 

Thus did she teach us the practical meaning of a 
most consoling truth, namely : that in the Church of 
the Living God there exists a sweet communion of 
saints, and that by prayers and good works, souls 
precious in the sight of the Lord may be released 
from purgatory and brought to the fruition of the 
blessed hopes of eternal life, so deeply implanted and 
so lovingly cherished in every Christian heart. God 
forbid that her friends should forget her or her life 
work, so simple, if you will, but yet so godly, so edi- 
fying and so grandly inspiring. Let the hard-hearted, 
let the indifferent, let the ungrateful, consign their 
dead to oblivion ; let them permit the weeds of f or- 
getfulness to grow around their graves ; but, as for 
us, brethren, let us hold in everlasting honor and per- 
petual prayers the names and memories of the just. 

She was indeed one of the just, in the deepest 
and fullest sense of the word, for she was an ideal 
Christian woman, fearing God, and striving under all 
circumstances to shape her life according to the 
teachings of Jesus Christ, our great Master and 
Model. Those who feel her death most will acknowl- 
edge that she was a mother of whom any family 
might feel justly proud, and, to my mind, earth 
knows no holier presence, no lovelier face, than the 
presence and the face of good, pious, God-fearing 
mothers. 

Such a one must needs be missed from our midst, 
and more especially from the Church and from the 
home. Her house, now so desolate, will never again 
be what it once was. Sickness came into it, as it 
always does, sooner or later, in every home, and has 
taken away from it much of its sunshine and happi- 



326 Father Walsh 

ness ; for mother is now gone away, let us trust, to 
those mansions beyond the reach of darkness and 
death, of which Christ Jesus is the Lamp and the 
Light. Let this thought console the sorrowing ones, 
and let it, dearly beloved brethren, recall to our minds 
once more our infinite dignity and our immortal 
destiny. We shall soon enter into the home of our 
eternity, for such is the decree of God and the law 
of nature. Are we preparing for our exit from this 
world ? Are we putting our accounts in order ? Are 
we following in the footsteps of the saints, walking 
in the narrow way that leads up to God and to 
heaven ? 

Oh, brethren, let us be wise, working out our 
salvation in fear and trembling, and putting forth 
our best efforts to love and serve God. For those 
who do this there is the hope of a glorious reward, 
and the promise of an everlasting reunion in heaven, 
where parents and children will meet and greet each 
other again, and rejoice in the loving assurance of 
Christ, that there will be no more tears, no more 
sorrow, no more separation, and no more death. 



This world of ours knows, my brethren, knows 
no more heart-rendering sight than that of the open 
grave. 

In the minds of most people, the grave is asso- 
ciated with all that is saddest and darkest in life ; 
for it seems to epitomize all our heartaches and all 
our heartbreaks ; it reminds us of buried hopes and 
broken ties, recalling the sorrowing, smiling face 
that they shall see no more, or some friendly, hearty 
greeting that they shall hear no more. 

It is, therefore, no exaggeration to say that the 
sight of the open grave is, humanly speaking, heart- 
rending beyond expression. The kindliest word 



Eulogies 327 

seems to detract so little from its poignancy, that we 
would gladly turn away from the very thought, were 
it not for the valuable lessons it teaches us, and the 
consolation we may draw even from this dark side 
of life. It is a mistake, my brethren, to imagine that 
God has confined His revelations and His teachings 
to one book only— the Bible. The truth is that the 
Almighty has a thousand different ways of impress- 
ing upon us our duty and our destiny. It is also true 
to say that chief among these Divine teachers is the 
very thing we are teaching now — the grave. For, 
every time the grim messenger calls a friend from 
our midst, we have one additional and emphatic proof 
that our true and lasting home is heaven. Every 
time the grave opens to receive a brave, worthy 
Christian, we know that another voice has been added 
to the choir that sings God's praises forever and for- 
ever. Every time an honest, upright father, or a 
devout, loving mother, goes forth from this world, 
we have the assurance that it is only to exchange 
days and hours and years of labor and trial, and per- 
haps of suffering, for an endless age of happiness. 

Hence, it is evident that we may draw, even 
from the tomb, lessons of fidelity to God, and some 
measure of consolation that ought to soften our sor- 
row for the dead, or at least prevent us from griev- 
ing like them who have no hope. St. Paul would 
have us, dearly beloved brethren, fix our faith and 
our hope solely on God, for everything else but Him 
shall pass away, even as will pass away the bright, 
sunny autumn day. We need not insist upon the 
transitory nature of earthly things. How forcibly, 
yet how painfully, is the truth brought home to us 
this morning. 

Only a few short weeks ago, she who is the 
object of our prayers and tears was apparently in the 
full enjoyment of health and strength. She was 
happy. Everything that indulgent parents and a 



328 Father Walsh 

refined Christian education could do, was done, and 
the result was, she had a happy heart and a genial 
disposition. Of one thing there seemed to be no 
doubt, that around about her was far more sunshine 
than shadow. But behold the change ! See how 
light has been changed into darkness, and joy into 
sorrow ! The young bride of six months lies before 
us cold in death, wrapped in her bridal robes. 

Is not earthly joy, after all, only a dream ? Is 
not human happiness, after all, only a fleeting 
fancy ? Is not life, after all, with all its crowding 
scenes of successes and failures, only a play upon the 
stage ? Humanly interpreted, yes. For, whatever 
is not eternal, says St. Bernard, is nothing. But, 
spiritually speaking, it is very different. A Chris- 
tian life is more than a passing scene. Life is real, 
says the poet. We may, by grace and union with 
God, give to it, and to joy and to happiness, an 
eternal charm and an infinite value. 

Our young friend seemed to have grasped this 
truth better than many of more mature years and 
wider experience. Though her stay here below was 
a brief one, yet she lived and labored for God and 
the sanctification of her soul. She never lost sight 
of her duty and her destiny. She acted well the part 
God had given her to play, and now hers is the 
reward. Surely, this is a consoling thought, and one 
that will enable the bereaved ones to bow down in 
humble submission to the will of Him Who doth all 
things wisely and well. Let our prayer be, 'Thy 
will be done," or let us say from our heart of hearts : 
"The Lord hath given, the Lord hath taken away ; 
blessed be the Name of the Lord.'' She was not too 
good nor too pure for heaven. If her untimely 
demise will make us poorer, well, it will make heaven 
richer. 

Above her newly made grave the autumn sun 
will shed its bright, warm rays. Winter will, ere 



Eulogies 329 

long, sift upon it his unspotted covering of snow ; 
spring will bedeck it with green grasses ; summer 
will bring to blossom flowers of rainbow hues. Sea- 
son after season will thus pass away, and the mem- 
ory of this dear child of God will be kept tenderly 
and sacredly enshrined in the hearts of an affection- 
ate family and numerous friends. 



"Remember thy Creator in the days of thy 
youth, before the silver chord be broken, and thy 
body return to Mother Earth, whence it was, and the 
spirit return to God, Who gave it. ' ' 

Such, my brethren, was the practical advice, the 
salutary admonition, given to the world more than 
two thousand years ago by the Inspired Writer of the 
'Book of Wisdom.' ' Like all warning voices that 
come from heaven, this one has found myriads of 
hearers, while the number of those who carry the 
lesson into their youthful lives are, indeed, exceed- 
ingly small. Every child heeds and learns the lesson 
at its mother's knee, for nearly every child is taught 
to know, and love, and serve God, and that is to 
■ remember its Creator. But childhood's day soon 
passes away, and the child of yesterday begins all too 
soon to forget its God, to ignore the Creator's just 
and salutary laws. It begins to know the devil, to 
know its passions, and to serve the world. The 
awful results that follow are clearly seen in shat- 
tered hopes and broken hearts ; parents bowed down 
in sorrow ; homes become shattered and sad, because 
of the wayward career that ends oftentimes in tardy 
regrets and useless promises. 

But, thank God, there are some children, con- 
sciously or unconsciously I know not, who take this 
command to heart, and who do remember their 
Creator in the days of their youth ; who continue to 



330 Father Walsh 

love and serve Him even after the dreams of child- 
hood have given way to the realities of manhood and 
womanhood. Among the latter we must number 
Ada Maria Martin, for she may truly be said to have 
made the love and service of her Creator the guiding 
principle of her life. She was a Christian maiden, 
and this parish, so singularly blessed in virtuous 
lives, knew few young ladies more estimable and 
more esteemed than she. To love her, one should 
only listen to her words as she spoke of her illness, 
her long suffering, and her approaching death. 

Like St. Theresa, she knew what it was to suffer, 
but her patience never flagged. I was, myself, 
deeply impressed by one thing she said a few hours 
before death released her. She seemed quite op- 
pressed by shortness of breath, and I requested her 
to kiss the Crucifix she held in her hand. She did so 
most affectionately, and immediately after, with eyes 
turned towards heaven, she said : " My Jesus, what 
are my sufferings compared to yours ? " 

These, and other sayings of hers, are sweet 
souvenirs of a noble, true soul, and such words seem 
like the very echoes of the young virgin martyrs, 
who defied death and pain for the love of Jesus Christ. 
It is interesting to trace the secret of her calm and 
courageous end, and the secret, methinks, is told in 
her devotion to her whose Immaculate Conception we 
commemorate to-day. Few sodalists had a greater 
confidence in Mary than our deceased friend, and it 
was only natural that the Virgin Mother should hover 
near her pillow, and whisper in her dying ears words 
of comfort which those around could not hear. 

With reason does the Apostle write : ' ' Precious in 
the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints." 
Weep not, widowed mother, for your child. Weep 
not, sorrowing brothers and sister, for your affec- 
tionate sister. She has gone from a vale of tears 
and sadness to a home made bright and gladsome by 



Eulogies 331 

the exclusion of possible sickness and suffering and 
death. There you shall meet her again, dressed not 
in material that moulders, but clothed in immortality ; 
and as a mark of personal esteem, I shall not forget 
to pray God for her, and to ask Him that her long 
sleep in the grave may be followed by a glorious 
dawn, and that she shall rise from the earth, to 
contemplate the Redeemer in the land of the living, 
face to face. Amen. 



' Weep not ; for the maid is not dead, but sleep- 
eth." These words, taken from the Gospel according 
to St. Luke, were first uttered, my brethren, by the 
Divine lips of Jesus Christ. 

Like all sayings that came straight from the 
Sacred Heart of the Son of God, this one is tenderly 
suggestive of heavenly sweetness and infinitely rich 
in loving sympathy. It dries up human tears, and 
makes it quite impossible for the members of the 
household of Faith to grieve like them who have no 
hope. Lift up, dearly beloved brethren, your sad- 
dened hearts to heaven ; fix your thoughts on Him 
Who has loved us with an eternal love, and tell me if 
there be a just cause to despair in the midst of intens- 
est suffering and hardest trial. True, the struggle 
may be a fierce one. But I would have you remem- 
ber, when the storm rages fiercest, Christ is nearest 
to us, ready to bear us up in His everlasting arms. 
It was so on the occasion that inspired the words of 
our text. 

Jairus had lost a daughter, fair and full of 
promise, who had just grownup to the years of young 
womanhood. In her were centered, as we may well 
believe, the hopes and happiness of a dear mother, 
the best love of an affectionate family circle, to which 
her presence was as sunshine and her voice as sweet- 



332 Father Walsh 

est music. What wonder, then, that the distracted 
father had instant recourse to the Father of Light 
and the God of all consolation ! 

It is well for us to recognize this truth to-day, 
dearly beloved brethren, for it strikes me that there 
is a great similarity between the occasion that in- 
spired the words of our text and the present one. 
Here was a young maiden, fair and full of promise, 
who had just budded into beautiful young woman- 
hood ; her own loved her as part and portion of 
themselves, so true was her heart, so tender her na- 
ture. No mother ever had reason to cherish a child 
as this afflicted mother had this sweet girl, who was 
so unexpectedly stricken down by the hand of death 
in all the freshness and fragrance of a perfect day in 
June. How many memories come back to me, as I 
speak over her mortal remains ! Nevertheless, I see 
her still walking from her home to her desk in the 
Capitol, or at evening wending her way homewards, 
sometimes weary and worn. She was ever faithful 
to duty. She was an ambitious girl, but ambitious in 
a Christian sense. Indeed, she could not well have 
been otherwise ; for God had most lavishly endowed 
her as to her intellectual side. She was quick to 
learn, slow to forget. She was one of the brightest 
ornaments of our Cathedral Academy. 

But she enjoyed a still higher distinction among 
us. She was a virtuous and pious Christian. She 
may have had a delight for work, but her real delight 
was to serve God with scrupulous exactitude. I have 
had ample opportunity to study and know her spiri- 
tual life, and I can say that she was first and foremost 
a child of God. It is sad to think that we shall see 
her never again approaching the Holy Sacrament ; 
never again kneeling in devout prayer ; never again 
coming in the church or going out, as she did almost 
daily ; never again reciting the office with the Chil- 
dren of Mary. 



Eulogies 333 

There is nothing in human language, dearly 
beloved brethren, so beautiful in thought, so rich in 
imagery, and so touching in simplicity, as the immor- 
tal sayings of our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus 
Christ. How sublime, and withal how simple, is the 
Master's Sermon on Mount ! How beautiful in 
thought and rich in imagery are His parables ! How 
full of Divine hope is His oft-quoted declaration : ' ' I 
am the Resurrection and the Life. He that belie veth 
in Me, even though he be dead, shall live, and he that 
liveth and believeth in Me, shall not die forever." 
Again, how touching is the Saviour's farewell to the 
grief -stricken disciples : ' ' You are, indeed, sorrowful 
now, but your sorrow shall be changed into joy. I go 
to prepare a place for you." Finally, how infinitely 
tender are His words to the widowed mother of 
Nairn : * ' Weep not. ' ' 

That the inculcating of faith and hope, in God's 
saving power and compassion, was one of the chief 
ends of our Blessed Lord's teaching, we will not 
deny. That He, the Great Consoler, wished to 
brighten the path of the exile from heaven, and 
lighten the cross and the burden of the heart-sore 
and the heart- weary, we must all acknowledge ; for 
we find, upon reflection, that it is this very purpose 
that gives a distinctive charm and coloring to most of 
the Divine Teacher's sacred sayings. We do well, 
dearly beloved brethren, to recall to mind, from time 
to time, this consoling and sustaining thought. It is 
a duty we owe ourselves to remember it, especially 
this morning, and to cherish to-day more fondly than 
ever before, the words of eternal hope and promise. 
They were meant to soothe our sorrows and to keep 
our bleeding hearts from breaking. They will com- 
fort us here and now, if aught in heaven or on earth 
can strengthen us, as we look into the open grave, 
and think of our dear friend, this Christian woman 
and gentle lady, sleeping peacefully beneath the 
green grass of God's acre. 



334 Father Walsh 

What sad and solemn feelings are associated with 
death ! Who has ever visited a tomb without living 
over again long days of suffering, and still longer 
nights of weary vigils ? Does not the casket bring 
back to memory some sweet, wasted face, and tell us 
of the loved ones whom we have lost ? Alas ! life 
holds no picture more dismal than that. For, as we 
look into the face of the dying and the dead, we re- 
member, it may be, the last parting from parents, or 
the last faint clasp of a brother's hand, or the last 
loving kiss of a fond sister. To-day, in their pres- 
ence, we can recall the fact that blinding tears 
dimmed our eyes and loud sobbings closed our ears, 
lest we should catch the last shudder and sigh of the 
departing soul. We thought then, and we think now, 
that death is hard ; and had it not been for heaven's 
helping hand, we should have sunk into the grave, 
and there gladly welcomed quiet and rest. But, amid 
the outbursts of grief and above the din of distress, 
we heard a voice. You have heard it, dearly beloved 
brethren, and I believe they who mourn to-day have 
heard it. 'Twas the voice of Christ, saying : " Weep 
not." "I am the Resurrection and the Life." 
"You are indeed sorrowful now, but your sorrow 
shall be changed into joy." To the faithful Jesus 
has promised the crown, and they are blessed who 
die in the Lord. 

To have been faithful to God, and to have died 
in the Saviour's love, were the privilege and the hap- 
piness of this good woman. The fact that she was 
true and honorable in all her ways, will cause a wide 
circle of friends to regret her death. The thought 
that she was a devout Catholic, interested in the 
Church's welfare, has evoked from the clergy of this 
parish an expression of sincere sorrow. Our char- 
itable societies will miss her, and many a poor, neg- 
lected child of the world will feel the loss of her 
sympathy and generosity. If I dared, dearly beloved 



Eulogies 335 

brethren, I would lead you to the house of mourning 
and show you the void made there by her demise. 
But the home and its gloom are too sacred for the 
gaze of the vulgar. 

In School Ten the teachers will see an unoccupied 
desk and chair. The pupils will hear no more the 
voice of a revered superior. But, oh ! what are 
such memories to the vacant chair in her home circle, 
and the hushing of that voice that was as sweetest 
music to the ears of the children of her dead sister ! 
They called her Aunt. In love and gratitude, they 
might have called her Mother. We believe that such 
a generous, unselfish, noble soul as hers is saved. 
St. Paul says that some souls must be saved yet so 
as by fire. If, in her case, the last farthing has not 
been paid, we may pay it for her by our good works 
and prayers. For Holy Writ assures us : * ' It is a 
holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, 
that they may be loosed from their sins/* 



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